I've been crying lately thinking about the world as it is.

[marym625]

Why must we go on hating?
Why can't we live in bliss?


Cat Stevens- Peace Train:

[pnwmom]

1. As bad as it is now, it's even scarier to think about the challenges our children will face. n/t

[marym625]

3. I can't imagine

Just glad I didn't have kids. But I worry about my nieces and nephew

[Throd]

9. How is it any worse than in the past?

I'm glad I'm raising my daughters in 2015, versus 1915...or 1815...or 1715 etc.

[Nay]

25. Well, the climate problem is going to be a life-destroyer, probably in our grandchildren's

lives.

[appalachiablue]

2. The grave issues left for the children to face are horrific. Love Cat Stevens. Peace.

[marym625]

4. Peace

[Lifelong Protester]

5. Stil on the Peace train

and love Cat Stevens.

I agree about the state of the world. I'm old enough to have thought we'd really see the Dawning of the Age of Aquarius, but I guess not. I thought we'd be better off now.

[marym625]

6. Didn't we all

Man, back in the day of free love, mass protests, civil disobedience, great music, thoughtful, deep conversation about how to make things better.

Dreamers we were. Unfortunately, we awoke to the same old nightmare

[Lifelong Protester]

7. I have this crazy dream

that once the bulk of us are retired, we can go 'back to work' on these issues...I hope, anyway.

[marym625]

13. Unfortunately, I will never be able to retire

But I will join in after work!

[Laura PourMeADrink]

8. Yes...wish we could get in a time machine back to 1970 - but that was

a perfect storm which probably won't happen again in our lifetime. I am just glad I was alive to witness it.

[marym625]

14. I think we're close now

If you haven't seen it, you should check out the documentary Weather Underground. Really good. It is on www.freedocumentaries.org They don't even ask for an email address to watch

Here's a link to the movie

http://freedocumentaries.org/documentary/the-weather-underground

[Laura PourMeADrink]

37. thanks...will check it out. nt

[RKP5637]

55. This is an excellent resource! Thanks for posting it! n/t

[marym625]

58. You're welcome!

I love the site. Glad you do too

[Exhibit A]

10. I hear you.

While I was trying to think of something to contribute to the conversation, I thought of this:

(Did you watch "Monk"?)

[marym625]

15. Sorry ,I didn't

You can just say hi if you want.

[marym625]

18. I hope that read how I meant it

I just meant that I would love to have you join the conversation no matter what you say.

[Exhibit A]

38. I understood!

Sorry, I was getting drowsy & didn't reply. I'm awake again now.

[marym625]

39. Oh no worries

I just read things after I post and sometimes think I could have said it better or worse, that it reads mean.

Thank you for your reply

[undergroundpanther]

11. I don't know

To change the world,but it never had to become like THIS, I used to cry rant now I just feel a mixture of sadness disgust nostalgia and rage suffocated by a feeling of powerlessness. I dunno if my writing changed any minds or not,doesn't matter,seeing this world turn into what it's turning into wont stop because millions of people do not get the magnitude of the wall we will hit head t
On too very soon. Life here could have been something amazing,but millions made up thier minds to follow the leader and the money off the cliff,and all I can think are people on a mass scale subconsciously aware of what they have chosen?

[marym625]

16. excuse me

How did you get into my mind?

I swear to dog almighty, I just said that tone my brother this morning

Absolutely digging your name!

Check out my answer above about the documentary. Maybe you have already seen it though

[ND-Dem]

12. Peace Train crashed.

He was going down the grade making 90 miles an hour,
When his whistle began to scream,
He was found in that wreck with his hand on the throttle,
He was scalded to death by the steam.

[marym625]

17. NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Say it ain't so!

But you're right.

[Gormy Cuss]

19. Weird synchronicity.

I was just listening to this tune before I came to DU.

[marym625]

21. Cool!

Must be that great minds thing!

[Rex]

20. Peace sells, but who is buying?

Never happen, people are too wrapped up in money to ever try peace.

[marym625]

22. True

But then there are those of us without money.

Peace

[Orrex]

23. Why won't you return Natalie Merchant's calls?

[marym625]

24. That bitch? Why would I?

OK, I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about. I know who you're talking about. But I don't get it

[Orrex]

45. :evilgrin:

Aside from Stevens' original recording, a cover version of "Peace Train" was recorded by the American alternative rock band 10,000 Maniacs. The song originally appeared on the band's 1987 album, In My Tribe, but it failed to chart. After Stevens' comment which some interpreted as calling for the death of Salman Rushdie, 10,000 Maniacs lead singer Natalie Merchant had "Peace Train" removed from all copies of the album in the U.S.

-From Wiki

[marym625]

48. wow

I had no idea. Cool information. And now I like Natalie Merchant even more

Thank you!

[marym625]

26. Now I had to listen to

10,000 Maniacs - What's the Matter Here?:

[AngryDem001]

27. The idyllic world portrayed in Star Trek

only came about after WWIII. I use that example because I think to acquire that blissful world we all want, we are going to have to go through some sort of global awakening. And I think that awakening will require some sort of global cataclysm.

That's just my theory, anyway.

Hopefully it doesn't sound too nutty.

[marym625]

29. sounds exactly right

That's what the Weather Underground thought was happening in 1970.

You should check out the documentary Weather Underground

[AngryDem001]

34. I will!

Thanks!

[marym625]

36. link to the movie

Is in reply 14.

You will enjoy it. Truly makes you think!

[FiveGoodMen]

46. So you're saying we need ANOTHER War-to-end-all-wars?

[Marrah_G]

28. It's not healthy to dwell on the evil in the world

Try looking closer to home and find some stories about good things that people are doing and avoid the sad stories for a few weeks.

[marym625]

30. Thank you

I'm fine. Just been an enlightening couple of days.

You are so sweet. Thank you!

[Marrah_G]

31. ~hugs~

[marym625]

32. .

back

[Not a Fan]

33. The world as it is

It's so discouraging - and soft hearts are easily wounded ... but try to balance good things against the bad things you hear/read/see about. You may have to seek them to rescue you momentarily - but remember you can always go to I can haz cheeseburgers, or youtube to watch cat videos. Or call someone you love.

[marym625]

35. That's so sweet

You're so sweet.

I'm OK. Discouraged. Upset. Feeling hopeless about our country. But I am ok.

Those are the lyrics of the song. Since we're in such an awful place, war, unemployment, judges disregarding federal orders, etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc, I just thought the post fit.

Thank you so much for your kind and caring words. It's people like you, and everyone on this post, that keep hope alive

[cwydro]

40. ...

[marym625]

41. Awe! Thank you

[CBGLuthier]

42. As long as this world has people who can create a song as hopeful as Peace Train but then turn into

the kind of asshole who supported the death of someone they never even met because they offended their sensibilities you will have a lot more weeping to do.

[marym625]

43. You have to get real on me?

Right before bed?

Yep. That's very true. But for right now I'm going to think Cay Stevens died when Yusuf Islam was born.

Peace my friend.

[CJCRANE]

44. The MSM concentrates on the bad stuff in certain areas and hypes it up

but the reality is that it doesn't affect 99.9% of people in the world.

On the flip side, there's a lot of really bad stuff going on all over the world that they never show us because it wouldn't benefit them.

[marym625]

47. True

We are enduring so much less than some places. But it is not the America that was supposed to be

We've been through worse

[KamaAina]

49. Cat Stevens? Don't you know he's a evul Mooslim terraist?!

He actually did convert to Islam, changed his name to Yusuf Islam -- and was barred from entering the U.S. shortly after Nineleven(TM)!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_Stevens#Denial_of_entry_into_the_United_States

On 21 September 2004, Yusuf was on a United Airlines flight from London to Washington, travelling to a meeting with U.S. entertainer Dolly Parton, who had recorded "Peace Train" several years earlier and was planning to include another Cat Stevens song on an upcoming album. While the plane was in flight, his name was flagged as being on the No Fly List. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers alerted the United States Transportation Security Administration, which then diverted his flight to Bangor, Maine, where he was detained by officers from the Department of Homeland Security.

The following day, Yusuf was denied entry and flown back to the United Kingdom. A spokesman for Homeland Security claimed there were "concerns of ties he may have to potential terrorist-related activities". The Israeli government had deported Yusuf in 2000 over allegations that he provided funding to the Palestinian organisation Hamas, but he denied doing so knowingly.[79] Yusuf, who repeatedly has condemned terrorism and Islamic extremism, stated "I have never knowingly supported or given money to Hamas".[80] "At the time I was reported to have done it, I didn't know such a group existed. Some people give a political interpretation to charity. We were horrified at how people were suffering in the Holy Land."

However, the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) added him to a "watch list". The removal provoked an international controversy and led British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw to complain personally to United States Secretary of State Colin Powell at the United Nations. Powell responded by stating that the watchlist was under review, adding, "I think we have that obligation to review these matters to see if we are right".

Yusuf believed his inclusion on a "watch list" may have simply been an error: a mistaken identification of him for a man with the same name, but different spelling. On 1 October 2004 he requested the removal of his name, "I remain bewildered by the decision of the U.S. authorities to refuse me entry to the United States". According to a statement by Yusuf, the man on the list was named "Youssef Islam", indicating that Yusuf was not the suspected terrorism supporter. Romanization of Arabic names can easily result in different spellings: the transliteration of the Islamic name for Joseph (Yusuf's chosen name) lists a dozen spellings.

[marym625]

50. Yeah, weird stuff

Don't know how you go from being Cat Stevens to Yusof whatever.

is right

[KamaAina]

51. You convert to Islam and change your name

as did Muhammad Ali (Cassius Clay), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Lew Alcindor), Ahmad Rashad (Bobby Moore) and others.

[marym625]

53. Oh I know

Last edited Wed Feb 18, 2015, 10:07 PM - Edit history (1)

I wasn't talking about the conversion being weird. It was the "Peace Train" Cat Stevens becoming, callil for murder, Yusuf Islam.

Cassius Clay, Jr didn't become Muhammad Ali and start yelling kill the whoever. In fact, he was anti-war. Man, I wonder what he would say about the current situation.

[KamaAina]

54. Oh, right. The Salman Rushdie thing.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_Stevens#Salman_Rushdie_controversy

Yusuf attracted controversy in 1989, during an address to students at London's Kingston University, where he was asked about the fatwa calling for the death of Salman Rushdie, author of The Satanic Verses. The media interpreted his response as support for the fatwa. He released a statement the following day denying that he supported vigilantism, and claiming that he had merely recounted the legal Islamic punishment for blasphemy. In a BBC interview, he displayed a newspaper clipping from that period, with quotes from his statement. Subsequent comments made by him in 1989 on a British television programme were also seen as being in support of the fatwa. In a statement in the FAQ section of one of his Web sites, Yusuf asserted that while he regretted the comments, he was joking and that the show was improperly edited. In the years since these comments, he has repeatedly denied ever calling for the death of Rushdie or supporting the fatwa.

[marym625]

57. denied them?

That's interesting. We didn't have tape recording devices back in the '89.

[ND-Dem]

62. the muslim cat stevens called for murder? when was this?

[marym625]

65. yes. of Salman Rushdie

Up the thread just a tad has all the information.

I don't know how old you are but it happened in 1989. It was the biggest thing in the news for quite a while.

[Dont call me Shirley]

52. Oh, I've been smilin' lately,

Dreamin' about the world as one
And I believe it could be;
Some day it's going to come

'Cause out on the edge of darkness,
There rides a peace train.
Oh, peace train take this country.
Come take me home again.

[marym625]

59. Now, I've been smiling lately,

Thinkin' about the good things to come
And I believe it could be;
Something good has begun.

Oh, peace train soundin' louder.
Glide on the peace train.
Ooh, ah, ee, ah, ooh, ah.
Come on, now peace train.

[WillyT]

56. Me Too... And What's Worse... The Answers Are Right In Front Of Us...

[marym625]

60. besides taking down the 1%

What are the answers? I seriously don't have a clue.

[WillyT]

64. Go Here... It's A Start...

Link: http://cpc.grijalva.house.gov/budget-for-all/

We fix us... we may just fix the world.

[marym625]

66. Thank you

I will have to read it later. Long day and I can hardly see straight.

[marym625]

63. Not the first person I've heard say that. interesting.

I don't know if it is all real or all fake but I doubt it's a lie. But what do I know, sitting in middle America?

I don't watch much tv. I do read a great deal on the Internet.

Yeah, I need to take a little break

Thank you so much.