Calling all Boomers. The time is now (again).

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

I'm a late Boomer, coming into my teens in the late 60's, early 70's.

I loved the music, I participated in a couple of anti-war marches, and accidentally got caught in a gnarly riot.

Most of all, I remember the dialog, the conversations. There was such excitement because we believed we were changing our government, and in fact the world, for the better.

Civil rights, Women's rights, anti-war, pro-peace, pro legalization (or at least decriminalization) of pot, pro-choice, pro-environment and finally, the downfall of Nixon.

Post Nixon/Ford, we elevated Jimmy Carter to the WH, a man of sterling character who embraced all of the above.

And then...well, we veered off track.

I could go on about the shift from the focus on collective good to individual greed...but that's history.

Folks, we have another chance to do it right. And here's the big difference between now and then...our children are with us.

The generation gap is no longer the issue...the economic gap, the ideological gap and the power gap are what we're fighting now..

The time has come to show this generation what fighting the good fight looks like. Invite them to join us and welcome their energy and idealism.

Our collective will is our strength. The days of pitting parents against children are behind us.

The vigor and innovation of the young, teamed with the worldly wisdom of those of us who are "seasoned", can be the undoing of this horrifically corrupt administration. MKJ

[annabanana]

1. oddly enough I happened on the song Monster

by Steppenwolf the other day... I never thought I'd be here again, but here we ALL are..

-snip-

We don't know how to mind our own business
'Cause the whole worlds got to be just like us
Now we are fighting a war over there
No matter who's the winner
We can't pay the cost
'Cause there's a monster on the loose
It's got our heads into a noose
And it just sits there watching

America where are you now?
Don't you care about your sons and daughters?
Don't you know we need you now
We can't fight alone against the monster

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

2. Steppenwolf! My first live concert...those lyrics are haunting. n/t

MKJ

[acmejack]

3. Just got the "Civil Disobedience Handbook"

The subtitle is "A Brief History and Practical Advice for the Politically Disenchanted".

I agree with you, the time is coming soon! I actually believe the time has been now for some time. Good post Patriot!

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

6. Thanks, I've been feeling this way for a while.

It seems, at times,our untapped strength lies in the teaming of our generation with those whose lives will be most affected for the next 60 t0 70 years.


MKJ

[Dora]

4. This Gen Xer says, "Amen, and show us the way." n/t

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

15. Thanks, although I am starting to think it is you and your constituents

who will lead all of us out of this dreadful situation. However, I, along with other Boomers, will support, advise and applaud every step of the way.

The fact that generations are banding together in opposition to this administration's corrupt policies, gives me so much hope. MKJ

[samdogmom]

5. Thanks! I'm with you.

It's funny that you noticed that our children agree with us this time around. Mine are 100% behind me (well maybe 80%--they think I'm a little too diehard, but they still will vote the right way.) Go figure! Anyway. now what?

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

10. LOL, my daughter is exactly the same! However, she came with me

on my impetuous trip to Crawford last month and didn't complain about the drive, the heat, the cheap motel or the fire ants.(I must have been in the 80% for that trip).

As far as "now, what?"...I may have to ask my daughter. MKJ

edited to add: we can advise, but these kids are the ones who will lead the way...I'm here to support them in any way I can. MKJ

[silverweb]

7. Another Boomer reporting in!

And this time, I have two outspoken, politically active, liberal offspring with me!

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

13. :-) Anyone who says "kids today" dismissively is not acquainted

with the amazing kids we know and/or have raised! MKJ

[Seansky]

8. You won't be alone...Gen Xer here.

[mdelaguna2000]

9. Operation Mindcrime - Queensryche's lyrics ring true

I blast this and just rage - the time has come indeed... cool lyrics below from the song "Revolution Calling"...


The man with the cure
Just watch the television
Yeah, you'll see there's something going on

Got no love for politicians
Or that crazy scene in D.C.
It's just a power mad town
But the time is ripe for changes
There's a growing feeling
That taking a chance on a new kind of vision is due

I used to trust the media
To tell me the truth, tell us the truth
But now I've seen the payoffs
Everywhere I look
Who do you trust when everyone's a crook?

Revolution calling
Revolution calling
Revolution calling you
Revolution calling
Revolution calling
Gotta make a change
Gotta push, gotta push it on through

[Seansky]

11. And what is the first call to Action?

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

12. Your generation is in a position to make a difference...you are

a generation that is coveted by Madison Ave., Wall St. and politicians of all persuasions.

And your generation is able to see through the hype to the facts. You are the ultimate skeptics.

First of all, I'm hoping a large contingent of under 30's are part of the Sept. 24 March.

Second, I'm looking for and will vigorously support those of your generation who campaign for public office...

It's time for my generation to recognize that you (the collective you) have paid your dues and deserve a voice and our support.

In return, I'm hoping that our counsel and advice are heard and sometimes acted upon.

I saw the beginnings of this "passing of the baton" at Crawford.

It was heartening and thus my reflective post about a difference between now and then. MKJ

[yorkiemommie1]

14. my thoughts too

Teach Your Children Well

Graham Nash


http://ntl.matrix.com.br/pfilho/html/lyrics/t/teach_your_children.txt

You who are on the road
Must have a code that you can live by
And so become yourself
Because the past is just a good bye.
Teach your children well,
Their father's hell did slowly go by,
And feed them on your dreams
The one they picks, the one you'll know by.
Don't you ever ask them why, if they told you, you will cry,
So just look at them and sigh and know they love you.
And you, of tender years,
Can't know the fears that your elders grew by,
And so please help them with your youth,
They seek the truth before they can die.
Teach your parents well,
Their children's hell will slowly go by,
And feed them on your dreams
The one they picks, the one you'll know by.
Don't you ever ask them why, if they told you, you will cry,
So just look at them and sigh and know they love you.


I worked on a campaign this month and it was superbly run by younger folk, most just out of college. Then, were were lots of young mothers and retired people who worked long hours to get our candidate elected. There is lots of talent and energy among your generation. Use it wisely, well and often. There is a long, hard road ahead for yourselves and your children and grandchildren. Never, ever give up.

[mntleo2]

16. Me Too

I stuck with my activism, but for a long time it appeared there were few of us left who actually believed in the Movement. I guess my generation did not really believe in the words of people who gave their lives like, Medgar Evers, Martin Luther King, Bobby Kennedy. They became self consumptive yuppies and forgot all of it. It was angering sometimes to try to talk to someone about social justice, when all they wanted to do was taste wine and go to the next Stones concert. I guess all they cared about when they they used to show up at those protests was whether or not they were "in" enough and if they looked good in paisley (most of them looked stupid, I never wore it, lol).

And the sanctuary movement in the '80s? When Negroponte was pretending the American-trained death squads were not raping nuns and dropping them from airplanes or shooting entire villages of innocents because they tried to share their resources? My generation did not want to hear about it, about when Reagan lied his ass off and told the American people we were not leaving explosives in the waters of Nicaragua. My generation literally covered their ears when the few of us left, tried to educate them about the first strike capabilities of nuclear subs. They did not want to hear that those subs carried enough weapons to destroy the entire world 10 times over, or that the white trains bringing the chemicals to make those bombs came up through populated areas. They were so volatile that they had to paint the cars white because the slightest change in temperature or a bump could blow a city sky high...

I should have noticed when I was the only white attending black churches, and there were few whites working with the Black Panthers bringing breakfast to hungry kids in the inner city. I knew there were alot more whites, but few of us were left who actually followed Martin Luther King's advice; that to truly love your neighbor, you need to BE a neighbor if you wanted to eradicate poverty and racism. I will say I am a lot richer in my heart than any of those who barely paid lip service ever thought of being. Because my neighbors were not lily white and shallow. We worked together my neighbors and I to make sure our world was filled with the love of one another, black, Middle Eastern, East Indian, Native American, Asian, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, Christians of every color and from every part of the world. Nothing like being a Christian sitting down to Seder dinner with another friend from Palestine and our Jewish friends, laughing and talking after we dipped our bitter herbs in salt, knowing all the time what those herbs really meant ~ and how we knew in opur hearts we truly were the 'salt of the earth'... There is nothing like spending Chinese New Year in the International District watching the Dragon Dance with people you love who do not look exactly like you, or attending a Mississippi BBQ with the tasty greens and sausage made by someone's grandmother as she was telling you stories about what it was like to live as a young black woman in the Delta in the '30s. I am glad I spent my time going to Mexican weddings, eating fried bananas with South American friends, and danced the circle dance with Native friends. I know for a fact, it would have been a waste to attend the finest college in America if I had missed all of that ~ and you missed it!

Yeah I am glad there is a second chance, but if these people would have spent their lives working against those evil things brewing all around them while we tried to stop it, there wouldn't BE any need for a second chance. I wish I could ask these intentionally clueless ones who helped make the world the way it is today by looking the other way, was that Stones concert worth it while the world was heading toward disaster? I had kids, I was working, I found time, why didn't you?

Now you have left to our children this huge debt, this war, this slavery of others....for what? So you could drive your gas guzzling SUV and enroll your kids in baby college? Yeah I am glad the chance is coming. But now thanks to you, I fear for your grandchildren and mine. Maybe you can take this as your second chance. Maybe you can at least help clean up the mess you made that a few of us who knew the Truth, tried to prevent.

Cat In Seattle