I have felt desperation and despair for many days now as I have watched the incompetence and immorality of the current administration.
It’s callous disregard for the American citizens that have died and suffered due only to the fact that they were poor and for the most part black, for the first time caused me great shame and heartache for my country.
I have ranted in at least one diary, insulted someone I respect and made an effort to apologize for that hurt.
I wrote what you will read below to help others understand what I feel and what I see will happen for our once great nation.
If I have caused anyone else pain or anguish because of my anger and anguish over the destruction I feel of my once great nation, I extend to you my deepest and sincerest apologies for that pain.
Mitakuye Oyasin!–We are all related!
Wado
Ghostdancers_way
More below the fold
My country once was a place,
America land of the free
And beauty once had a face
Freedom like the living tree
Life once had a meaning
Honesty, integrity, truth
And once I was safe within it’s gleaming.
Once there was freedom not uncouth
And once I felt that I could laugh.
Happiness once was alive
And once I felt we were not divided in half
I was part of a country that was alive
I believed I was a part inside
Once I felt I fit in this great place
So quickly it feels like it has died
Her grace so great and full of grace
Her beauty seemingly so vast
All I ever wanted was a safe place to stay
Now it appears that it will not last
It appears to be going away
Fate maybe had another plan
And I was not privy to its sway
Shall we really lose our land?
It feels like it’s all died away
Happiness, joy, love all seem lost
Now I walk alone in this dark, darkness
With little light to guide me in this frost
Yet out of this darkness
I perceive a soft glow of hope
Knowing that even as the darkness glistens
There will be hearts that will cope
And finally the people will listen
The truth shall win through this night
Wiping away the destroyers of our freedom
Seek not the ways of those who deny right
America I believe will once again gain it’s freedom
Those that seek to destroy her will soon see our might
That real American’s are ready to stand up against wrong
To help our fellow man in all ways has been remiss
Soon the battle shall be joined by many in the throng
We shall never allow our country to fall into the abyss.
The government are supposed to be of the people: I have been known to say that people get the government they deserve (what can I say? i was younger then)
Now, I always take care not to conflate the government and the people of any country. The american government are evil; and that is not a word I use lightly – but the american people are loving and caring and ready to give. those that are not have mostly been manipulated or lied to, and are not blessed with the circumstances or natural gifts that allow them to see through it.
I have grieved and raged all week – but have also been heartened by the stories, the open-heartedness of so many people.
People live longer than governments.
The heart of the people will prevail.
they deserve is because they either fear a certain type of government (i.e. “Liberal tax and spend”) or they don’t comprehend what goes into governance and condon what should not be condoned (cronyism, malfeasance and misuse of power) or both.
In my case I feared voting for a third party because I was told that it would diminish my representation and waste my vote. Now I have no representation. That is not to say that the waste of the vote wouldn’t happen, but it made me feel powerless and that feeling of powerlessness was transmitted, not just to me and from me but to others by the media.
We’ve got a huge community of people on the political left who bought into the “if you don’t vote for the Democrats you’re wasting your vote.” Or, worse, “if you don’t vote for the Democrats you’re betraying the cause and helping the Republicans.” As a result we have Republicans in charge, which is bad, and a Democratic party that is silent on all of the issues we care about, from gay marriage to abortion to Iraq to New Orleans to Supreme Court judges to you-name-it.
People need to understand: IF YOU DON’T VOTE FOR THE CANDIDATE YOU LIKE, THERE IS NO WAY FOR HIM/HER TO WIN! This theory we have of voting for Democrats because they’re less bad than the Republicans just keeps on getting us deeper and deeper in trouble.
Vote your conscience, not how some party hack tells you to.
I wish I could give you more than one “4” for this comment.
Ghostdancer, I share your anger, rage and despair. You do not walk alone in the darkness, there are many with you, it is difficult to see.
Your spirit is pure and your voice is strong and powerful, your courage is righteous…do not allow your anger to turn to hate. May you find solace, wisdom and strength in the beliefs that you have so eloquently expressed here in your writings; In your family, and the counsel and wisdom of the elders you admire, respect and trust.
Bless you and yours my friend and brother, may we all together find the light that surely must come. It is always darkest, before the dawn…a trivial adage to some, but apropos. I will keep you in my heart and thoughts.
Peace
This is the best part of your poem above! And no we do not walk alone!
I perceive a soft glow of hope
Knowing that even as the darkness glistens
There will be hearts that will cope
And finally the people will listen
The truth shall win through this night
Wiping away the destroyers of our freedom
Seek not the ways of those who deny right
America I believe will once again gain it’s freedom
Those that seek to destroy her will soon see our might
That real American’s are ready to stand up against wrong
To help our fellow man in all ways has been remiss
Soon the battle shall be joined by many in the throng
We shall never allow our country to fall into the abyss.
I can only send you words but even still here’s some words I keep above my desk and in my heart.
Do not lose heart. We were made for these times.
I have heard from so many recently who are deeply and properly bewildered. They are concerned about the state of affairs in our world right now. It is true, one has to have strong cojones and ovarios to withstand much of what passes for “good” in our culture today. Abject disregard of what the soul finds most precious and irreplaceable and the corruption of principled ideals have become, in some large societal arenas, “the new normal,” the grotesquerie of the week. It is hard to say which one of the current egregious matters has rocked people’s worlds and beliefs more. Ours is a time of almost daily jaw-dropping astonishment and often righteous rage over the latest degradations of what matters most to civilized, visionary people.
…You are right in your assessments. The lustre and hubris some have aspired to while endorsing acts so heinous against children, elders, everyday people, the poor, the unguarded, the helpless, is breathtaking. Yet … I urge you, ask you, gentle you, to please not spend your spirit dry by bewailing these difficult times. Especially do not lose hope. Most particularly because, the fact is — we were made for these times. Yes. For years, we have been learning, practicing, been in training for and just waiting to meet on this exact plain of engagement. I cannot tell you often enough that we are definitely the leaders we have been waiting for, and that we have been raised since childhood for this time precisely.
…I grew up on the Great Lakes and recognize a seaworthy vessel when I see one. Regarding awakened souls, there have never been more able crafts in the waters than there are right now across the world. And they are fully provisioned and able to signal one another as never before in the history of humankind. I would like to take your hands for a moment and assure you that you are built well for these times. Despite your stints of doubt, your frustrations in arighting all that needs change right now, or even feeling you have lost the map entirely, you are not without resource, you are not alone. Look out over the prow; there are millions of boats of righteous souls on the waters with you. In your deepest bones, you have always known this is so. Even though your veneers may shiver from every wave in this stormy roil, I assure you that the long timbers composing your prow and rudder come from a greater forest. That long-grained lumber is known to withstand storms, to hold together, to hold its own, and to advance, regardless.
…We have been in training for a dark time such as this, since the day we assented to come to Earth. For many decades, worldwide, souls just like us have been felled and left for dead in so many ways over and over – brought down by naiveté, by lack of love, by suddenly realizing one deadly thing or another, by not realizing something else soon enough, by being ambushed and assaulted by various cultural and personal shocks in the extreme. We have a history of being gutted, and yet remember this especially … we have also, of necessity, perfected the knack of resurrection. Over and over again we have been the living proof that that which has been exiled, lost, or foundered – can be restored to life again. This is as true and sturdy a prognosis for the destroyed worlds around us as it was for our own once mortally wounded selves.
…Though we are not invulnerable, our risibility supports us to laugh in the face of cynics who say “fat chance,” and “management before mercy,” and other evidences of complete absence of soul sense. This, and our having been to Hell and back on at least one momentous occasion, makes us seasoned vessels for certain. Even if you do not feel that you are, you are. Even if your puny little ego wants to contest the enormity of your soul, that smaller self can never for long subordinate the larger Self. In matters of death and rebirth, you have surpassed the benchmarks many times. Believe the evidence of any one of your past testings and trials. Here it is: Are you still standing? The answer is, Yes! (And no adverbs like “barely” are allowed here). If you are still standing, ragged flags or no, you are able. Thus, you have passed the bar. And even raised it. You are seaworthy.
…In any dark time, there is a tendency to veer toward fainting over how much is wrong or unmended in the world. Do not focus on that. Do not make yourself ill with overwhelm. There is a tendency too to fall into being weakened by perseverating on what is outside your reach, by what cannot yet be. Do not focus there. That is spending the wind without raising the sails. We are needed, that is all we can know. And though we meet resistance, we more so will meet great souls who will hail us, love us and guide us, and we will know them when they appear. Didn’t you say you were a believer? Didn’t you say you pledged to listen to a voice greater? Didn’t you ask for grace? Don’t you remember that to be in grace means to submit to the voice greater? You have all the resource you need to ride any wave, to surface from any trough.
…In the language of aviators and sailors, ours is to sail forward now, all balls out. Understand the paradox: If you study the physics of a waterspout, you will see that the outer vortex whirls far more quickly than the inner one. To calm the storm means to quiet the outer layer, to cause it, by whatever countervailing means, to swirl much less, to more evenly match the velocity of the inner, far less volatile core – till whatever has been lifted into such a vicious funnel falls back to Earth, lays down, is peaceable again. One of the most important steps you can take to help calm the storm is to not allow yourself to be taken in a flurry of overwrought emotion or despair — thereby accidentally contributing to the swale and the swirl. Ours is not the task of fixing the entire world all at once, but of stretching out to mend the part of the world that is within our reach. Any small, calm thing that one soul can do to help another soul, to assist some portion of this poor suffering world, will help immensely. It is not given to us to know which acts or by whom, will cause the critical mass to tip toward an enduring good. What is needed for dramatic change is an accumulation of acts — adding, adding to, adding more, continuing. We know that it does not take “everyone on Earth” to bring justice and peace, but only a small, determined group who will not give up during the first, second, or hundredth gale.
…One of the most calming and powerful actions you can do to intervene in a stormy world is to stand up and show your soul. Soul on deck shines like gold in dark times. The light of the soul throws sparks, can send up flares, builds signal fires … causes proper matters to catch fire. To display the lantern of soul in shadowy times like these — to be fierce and to show mercy toward others, both – are acts of immense bravery and greatest necessity. Struggling souls catch light from other souls who are fully lit and willing to show it. If you would help to calm the tumult, this is one of the strongest things you can do.
…There will always be times in the midst of “success right around the corner, but as yet still unseen” when you feel discouraged. I too have felt despair many times in my life, but I do not keep a chair for it; I will not entertain it. It is not allowed to eat from my plate. The reason is this: In my uttermost bones I know something, as do you. It is that there can be no despair when you remember why you came to Earth, who you serve, and who sent you here. The good words we say and the good deeds we do are not ours: They are the words and deeds of the One who brought us here. In that spirit, I hope you will write this on your wall: When a great ship is in harbor and moored, it is safe, there can be no doubt. But … that is not what great ships are built for.
…This comes with much love and prayer that you remember who you came from, and why you came to this beautiful, needful Earth,
Clarissa Pinkola Estés
OH ghostdancer’s way- yours is a righteous anger-I am pretty sure everyone here feels it right along with you.
I have tried to relieve that anger with–well – giving.
It is what I CAN do.
And it helps-somewhat.
But none of us can save the world- We do what we can and try to maintain some hope.
It isn’t easy,in these days of pain and despair.
Take heart,you are in a good place here.
Words of wisdom hanging on our refrigerator door…
And
Don’t lose heart. Read my sig line…
Dear Brother,
Your humanity is showing. Hold tight to it. It will serve you well in the days to come. We are all being wounded daily. Some of us are dieing. If you were not still outraged and heartbroken, I would be worried, but your outrage exposes the goodness within you. Sometimes in our confusion and hurt, we we injure the ones we love and respect the most. Hopefully that person that you believe you insulted will realize that whatever was said, was not meant for them directly.
I, like many here, find myself swinging between despair and optimism. It is natural to feel that way when we witness the atrocities being brought down on our brothers and sisters, but it is wise to remember that there is always hope. Hope will carry us through while we recover and regain our strenght for the fight ahead, the fight to rescue our country.
You are a good and strong man, and I have faith in you. The same faith I have in all my brothers and sisters around the country who have not surrendered.
Feed the good wolf.
oh yeah- and if you care to vent on me– well-I am a big girl and please feel free to email me your anger- I am good at dissipating that– as a friend of mine said one day- ‘you are a little bitty person but you have wide shoulders’ 😉
So many heroic and compassionate Americans are helping the survivors of Katrina. Alas, even that heroism will be exploited by GWB. He will twist the compassion of Americans into a reason for them to be independent of government. Do not let him do it. Government exists to meet monumental emergencies that the people cannot handle.
This proof of the inept governance of GWB is a lesson for America to guard against electing incompetents because they surround themselves with other incompetents.
It’s a warning.
May they rest in peace, all the hapless people who were left to die due to government incompetence. Due to just a few people who lacked leadership and courage.
Brother,
I want you to watch this….I found it after the election when I was feeling defeated and beaten. It reminds me that I’m not alone.
http://www.thebattleforamerica.com/the-battle-for-america-large.html
My brother, you are tired from your journey, and it is time to reflect, to rest, to pray.
Our life is a Quest, and it is a tiresome one, but it is our journey, one we must conclude to find the final rest we so deperately seek.
So to you, I will pass this along, as our ancestors have given us these wisdoms, to gaurd us on our path.
Seeking refuge, high I climb, where we
began. Dancing visions, all around,
Listen to the wind… this is where
I begin. Ancestors rock me, cradle me in
those hills.
Watching the sunset from high the butte,
Fires ablaze, seeking refuge,
Finding strength and will through this
plastic haze, Calling their names, they
are with me still, the Old Ones
This land, my ally,
Rock me in your valleys,
Deep into Maka Ina,
Hold me close in your bosom,
Within, there is no time.
Rock me,
Cradled in those hills,
This place that is found
Never leaves me… sacred ground.
Ancestors talking,
Dancing all around,
Cradled in the hills
That rock me still.
Standing tall…
The Eagle,
The bear,
Mother and
The race won there.
Take me high into your glory.
Tell of the ancient stories.
Peals of laughter, thunder, rain.
Let me trace your creviced pain.
I cry out at such defacing power…
Men without honor from you tower,
Placed there by a stranger’s hand.
They are not a part of this, our land.
Still in silence, yet in strength so bold,
The stories continue to be told,
The ones that lie beneath stone image…
Real, walked on and still remain…
Not of mortal mens’ hands made,
But of the rocks and cracks and caves,
Back to Mother, they live again,
In every plant and creature that remains.
I go to seek my piece of mind…
I look to you and there I find
If it is not meant to be.
Rock me,
In those hills, gently,
Cradled in those hills.
Nicholas Black Elk – Oglala Sioux
My brother, you were chosen for the path of the Ghost Dancer, and it is this path for you to follow, never giving in to the shadows, that will always try to stray your guide. Do not let the shadows steal your Spirit of Light, for they will, should you stray.
Listen to the Wolf Pack that cries for you to join in these comments, for you are a part of that cry. A distinctive voice of the pack, that works as a team.
We all have the Two Wolves Within so do not take the poison, wishing your enemy to die.
Come join the howl, and it will become a mighty wind, for we shall become the Wind of Change
When our paths cross from the West unto the East, as predicted, by our ancestors, we will be the voice to be reconned with.
The strength within you is of such, that the evil which you battle is envious of, and can never attain. For only the true of heart and spirit shall be blessed with. Of these your are blessed, for it has delivered you from all, that have tried to take your goodness away.
In this circle of life in which we live, do not leave us, for you have so much to give. Comfort your soul within this circle, and we shall cradle you with our spirits.
Take from me what you need, for we are all as one.
Mitakuye Oyasin
Wado my Brother
White Wolf
beautiful beautiful and stop makin me cry dammit:)
Short answer: No, you are not.
Long answer: others posting previously have already done that better than I.
I ditto this SD.
GDW, you are never alone as long as you breathe and your body functions, you are never alone. I have been in your steps before and felt like you. I do understand, but with your firends here and with the grace of the great spirit, we all will never walk alone. My heart goes out to you tho. The feeling of dispare is very great. Let it go and gather your wood for the fire to fight. We have a very big job ahead for us all. Great big hugs go out to you..from me ….HUGSSSSSSSSSS
Damn sure seems so sometimes.
But there are others, and no one really walks alone.
Look over your shoulder.
You MIGHT just be leading the parade.
amen!!!!!!!!!!!
Elizabeth Edwards, November 5, 2004:
If you think you’re walking alone, it’s probably because you are so far out ahead of the crowd that you can’t see them behind you.