Appreciation thread for all folks here committed and dedicated to issues and advocacy over politics
. . . we have a desperate need for information and activism out here in the country, not shallow appeals for fealty to politics and politicians. If you didn't realize it already, I'd like to point out to you that there's a fight on in America for the very heart and soul of our democracy; a fight to elevate our principles and values over the ephemeral and ultimately compromised politics of convenience and opportunity.
What I think has garnered our attention in Ferguson, beyond the very real and tragic death of a jaywalking youth at the hands of a policeman - and the failure, so far, to move decisively to prosecute the killer - are the sparks of hope which have flashed from the edges of the smoke, gas, and rubber bullets hurled at the very conscience of the town as we watch the people in that community scatter and then regroup - over and over - and return again and again with the same demands for accountability from their elected and appointed officials and officers.
Certainly they realize by now that there's no real impetus at all from their leaders to accommodate their demands without their constant presence and protests. Outside of the cameras and the images which have flittered in and out of our view screens from these independent sources of live feed; in the vast area of neighborhood surrounding the sleepless edges of the target area of press and protest; there's something substantial which is transcending the long-ago faded hopes that the attention and commotion from their demonstrations for justice and accountability would produce livelihoods and futures which would lift the community out of despair and provide the prosperity and self-determination promised by the politics and politicians of past and present.
Theirs is a lasting brand of hope and aspiration which will always stand and regroup long after the cynical and opportunistic blasts of smoke and gas have dissipated into the compromised air. We are fortunate to witness such courage and resilience in the face of such unbelievable and unimaginable anguish. We are inspired by it, and challenged to stand firm in our own beliefs, and to regroup our values with every deliberate diversion and deliberate distraction. We're inspired to hold fast to our own principles in the face of derision and ridicule for not adhering to some petty political motivation or motive.
Here's to this generation's patriots who doggedly place progress over the politics of the day. Here's to this new generation's defenders of liberty, freedom, and democracy! Here's to the end of the reign of this one-percent confederation of corporate interests. Here's to us!
= new reply since forum marked as read
Thanks for the thread, bigtree. 
...."to this new generation's defenders of liberty, freedom and democracy!"... on the streets of Ferguson, St Louis Co, MO.
Good morning, bigtree, and thank you for this thread.
