I want to start a movement.
I was driving home from the airport yesterday, listening to Schooner Fare. For those of you who don’t know, Schooner Fare is a semi-Irish folk group that has been a family tradition since probably before I was born. Listening to them really makes me feel at home, no matter where I am.
One of their songs came on, and I couldn’t help but notice the similarities between the song and today’s events. The song is called “We the People”, and I’ll post the lyrics here (hopefully I’ll be able to put it up on youtube soon so you can hear it too.)
WE THE PEOPLE
Words and Music by Steve Romanoff
We the people, hand in hand,
We, the people, understand,
That there’s an answer, there’s a way,
We, the people, have to say,
So, send the orders to prepare,
We, the people, do declare,
Send the good news, send the word,
We, the people, will be heard,
We, the people, everywhere.
There’s a message in the air,
And it’s a’movin’ across the land,
If you listen you can hear it well, my friend,
we know the time has come
To take our heads out of the sand,
‘Cause if we don’t the chance might never come again,
The future is in reason,
Not in building ways of war,
And the time has come for reason to be heard,
The purpose of the people
Is what this declaration’s for,
And it’s why our fathers told us word for word…
We won’t accept excuses,
And we won’t accept the lies,
Of those who’d lead our nations into hell,
It’s time to call their bluff,
To say to them, enough’s enough,
It’s time we all could hear the tolling of the bell,
It’s time to feed the hungry,
And it’s time to heal the pain,
And it’s time to beat our weapons into plows,
It’s time to hear the voices that have risen once again,
It’s the wisdom of the people clear and loud,
Singing proud…
Our government is broken. There’s no denying it. It’s time for all of us to pull our heads out of the sand, because there’s only one way this is going to change. We live in an era where the media gives the microphone to those who scream the loudest, not those who speak with the most sense. It’s time to raise our voices as one, calling for common sense to be the basis of any legitimate campaign and the core value of every politician. We should be willing to accept that no human is perfect, and therefore no government will ever be perfect – and by extension no solution is going to be perfect simply because it comes from human minds. But we can find a good solution if we work together. Everyone asks “What did the Framers intend”? I think that no matter what their specific views would have been on any given topic, we can all agree that they intended us to work together. They believed in compromise, not pig-headed stubbornness.
I want to start a movement, but I don’t know where to begin. Call it the “We the People” movement, or maybe “The Common Sense Movement, but something needs to be done. We may not have another chance like this to change the system and save the future of our nation.
When we’re faced with candidates who don’t believe in changing things and would rather tear the whole structure down, good and bad, we need to do something.
When we’re faced with Congressmen and women who make promises before they’re even elected, regardless of the fact that they might need to break that promise in order to save the nation from disaster, we need to do something.
When our leaders refuse to pay for the things they want, we need to do something.
When our leaders believe that we shouldn’t have to pay for what we’ve already used, we need to do something.
When our leaders refuse to take responsibility for their actions, we need to do something.
When our leaders care more about what they’re seen doing than what they actually do, we need to do something.
When government becomes bed of hypocrisy, we need to do something.
When those in Congress lie when they say that “The American People got what they wanted”, we need to do something.
The time has come to take our heads out of the sand and say “Enough’s enough”. Let’s do something. Call your congressman or woman, ask them to start exercising common sense and decency, hold them accountable for their actions, voice your opinions, tell them we got ourselves into this mess and it is our responsibility to get ourselves out of it. We have to pay for our mistakes, even if that means raising revenues for the time being. It’s time to do the right thing. And time to make sure those we elected to do the right thing remember why they were elected.
6 comments
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September 24, 2011 at 10:16 pm
marybeth
You are the coolest, Kevin.
September 25, 2011 at 2:56 pm
Sandra Ballantine
“The Long View,” a prayer by Archbishop Oscar Romero gives the perspective of someone who interfered in politics and knew that he couldn’t solve society’s ills and his government’s evils overnight.
A Prayer by Archbishop Oscar Romero
It helps, now and then, to step back and take a long view.
The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts,
it is even beyond our vision.
We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction
of the magnificent enterprise that is God’s work.
Nothing we do is complete, which is a way of saying
that the kingdom always lies beyond us.
No statement says all that could be said.
No prayer fully expresses our faith.
No confession brings perfection.
No pastoral visit brings wholeness.
No program accomplishes the church’s mission.
No set of goals and objectives includes everything.
This is what we are about.
We plant the seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted,
knowing that they hold future promise.
We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces far beyond our capabilities.
We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation
in realizing that. This enables us to do something,
and to do it very well. It may be incomplete,
but it is a beginning, a step along the way,
an opportunity for the Lord’s grace to enter and do the rest.
We may never see the end results, but that is the difference
between the master builder and the worker.
We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs.
We are prophets of a future not our own.
Amen.
September 25, 2011 at 3:01 pm
Sandra Ballantine
However, as I’m doing some research for cousin Tim’s Social Justice class
I also came across this
Politics . . . should be about an old idea with new power – the common good. The central question should not be, “Are you better off than you were four years ago?” It should be, “How can ‘we’ – all of us, especially the weak and vulnerable – be better off in the years ahead? How can we protect and promote human life and dignity? How can we pursue greater justice and peace?” – USCCB Administrative Committee, Faithful Citizenship: A Catholic Call to Political Responsibility, p 2
October 26, 2011 at 9:06 am
Randy
It is the perfect anthem for OWS!
I played it on high volume over the weekend and wondered how to make the suggestion. I was looking for a complete set of lyrics to hand out at Washington DC occupy when I found your blog. A good idea has many sources – good luck to you, me, us and them.
January 17, 2012 at 5:00 am
Mo
RIP Kevin.
January 18, 2012 at 10:25 pm
Phyllis Zimmerman
Now that Kevin has left us, it tortures me that he had times when he felt he hadn’t done enough while he was here on Earth. I do so hope the dear Lord has cleared that up for him — Kevin did SO much for so many people. When I checked his blog today and found this one last entry, I read it and felt that he had left us a last request. He wrote, “I want to start a movement, but I don’t know how.” Perhaps we should all do just a little bit to get that movement going, and then move it along? I think that would make Kevin very happy. Rest in the peace of God, dear soul.