correction; I should have posted this earlier.

OK, so last week after the Health care bill was passed, I was exuberant, and I posted an incredibly inspirational poem, written for Obama's inauguration and read there by Elizabeth Alexander. Here is one of my favorite parts;

Some live by 'love they neighbor as thyself'
others by 'first do no harm' or 'take no more
than you need'. What if the mightiest word is love?

I feel the entire poem is about our country, its varied spotted history and various political and social feelings; and how we all work towards the same ends albeit with different means.

What I did wrong, is that I removed my post after a few hours because I heard a lot of negative feedback about the Healthcare bill from my republican friends. I had truly not expected negativity from anyone.
A friend very rightly chastised me for this
"did you get too much flack from your republican friends"
well, if they gave me too much flack (a little bit of flack is fine) then they are not my friends and really wouldn't read my blog. So I need to express myself more and not worry about introducing inconvenient thoughts and ideas to those around me.
We do not progress by trying the same things over and over and expecting different results.

The Great poet William Butler Yeats , in his poem The Second Coming, described time when
"the best lack all conviction while the worst are full of passionate intensity"
I will not speculate on where those 'full of passionate intensity' stand on the health care bill, but I must make sure that I am not one of those who lack conviction.

So there you have it, I will not shy away from big political social statements which I feel to be important. As you read this blog, be warned that it is written by me (you can get your own if you don't like it). It will of course continue to be focused mainly on my children and our family blah blah blah. But I am making a special effort to live a life consistent with what I believe are correct principles and ideas.

Praise Song for the Day
by Elizabeth Alexander

Each day we go about our business,
walking past each other, catching each other’s
eyes or not, about to speak or speaking.

All about us is noise. All about us is
noise and bramble, thorn and din, each
one of our ancestors on our tongues.

Someone is stitching up a hem, darning
a hole in a uniform, patching a tire,
repairing the things in need of repair.

Someone is trying to make music somewhere,
with a pair of wooden spoons on an oil drum,
with cello, boom box, harmonica, voice.

A woman and her son wait for the bus.
A farmer considers the changing sky.
A teacher says, Take out your pencils. Begin.

We encounter each other in words, words
spiny or smooth, whispered or declaimed,
words to consider, reconsider.

We cross dirt roads and highways that mark
the will of some one and then others, who said
I need to see what’s on the other side.

I know there’s something better down the road.
We need to find a place where we are safe.
We walk into that which we cannot yet see.

Say it plain: that many have died for this day.
Sing the names of the dead who brought us here,
who laid the train tracks, raised the bridges,

picked the cotton and the lettuce, built
brick by brick the glittering edifices
they would then keep clean and work inside of.

Praise song for struggle, praise song for the day.
Praise song for every hand-lettered sign,
the figuring-it-out at kitchen tables.

Some live by love thy neighbor as thyself,
others by first do no harm or take no more
than you need. What if the mightiest word is love?

Love beyond marital, filial, national,
love that casts a widening pool of light,
love with no need to pre-empt grievance.

In today’s sharp sparkle, this winter air,
any thing can be made, any sentence begun.
On the brink, on the brim, on the cusp,

praise song for walking forward in that light.