I was over at The Field Negro’s Blog – reading how he was going to live up to his promise of running through the streets of Philly nekid if Obama won – Anyways, I did have a little suggestion for him – Along the same lines of what I wrote to ctblogger when he took over MLN:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
It is an inscription on the wall of the dressing room of the Montreal Canadiens and is often used as rallying call for sports teams up north. It is taken from the poem “In Flanders Fields”.
You might want to consider carrying a torch on your run, my friend. There is a lot of talk kicking around the news and the Blogs about the historic nature of this day. How this is such a huge positive change. But there is still a lot to do, and a lot of different battles that we all have ahead of us.
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
— Lt.-Col. John McCrae
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_Flanders_Fields
The poppies referred to in the poem grew in profusion in Flanders where war casualties had been buried and thus became a symbol of Remembrance Day. The poem is part of Remembrance Day solemnities in Allied countries which contributed troops to World War I, particularly in countries of the British Empire that did so.
The line in this poem is appropriate for everyone, liberal activists still pushing for monumental change, minorities and Black activists that still have a long way to go… Everyone that has been on the outside looking in at the dismal failures in American politics.
Yeah. I am stoked for change. And I have a dream too.
The real fights are just about to begin and the real challenge is to keep the torch burning as we move forward.
This is the end of the bush years. The worst president in the history of the USA.
The end of the worst government ever to enter into power in Washington, D.C.. Power hungry fools with a reckless disregard for the needs of the people.
The end of the of the neoconservative reign of terror. Modern day Jacobins that used terror to instill fear in the American population.
We have begun the change. A small step towards walking away from the years of failure. And we have started to live up to the possibilities of so many dreams. Just a glimmer of the hope and the possibilities that we can bring with real change.
It is, still, only the beginning.
Via joesaho – and as noted on the front page by BooMan – How appropriate for this post:
The Bushes Depart | 12:56 p.m. The helicopter steps are folded up. The blade begins to rotate. The Obamas and Bidens are standing still, holding each other’s hands, as they watch the helicopter rev up. We now have lift-off; the Bushes have left the Capitol at 12:55 — almost half an hour ahead of time. The Obamas wave.
The helicopter is swinging out over the Mall first instead of heading directly to Andrews. Surely the Bushes can’t hear the crowd below, but the chant is one that sports fans jeer to the opposing team: “Na Na Na Na/Na Na Na Na/Hey Hey Hey/Good-bye.”
A cheer that started at the old Forum in Montreal. 🙂
