Almost Poetry: #Ferguson by @Faryna

Almost Poetry: #Ferguson

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by Stan Faryna

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#Ferguson in my inbox this morning. It’s from John the Baptist.
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Almost Poetry: #Ferguson

 

Stan Faryna
18 August 2014
Washington, D.C.

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Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. And other social media DOHs.

by Stan Faryna

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Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (MLK Day) is an American celebration of the Christian civil rights leader, Martin Luther King, Jr.

From a practical point of view, the holiday is a federal holiday which means government employees get the day off. It is not a celebration, however, in which all Americans participate equally. Neither in body, spirit, nor enthusiasm. Not like Thanksgiving. There are no common rituals. There is even a failure – gasp – among the A-, B-, C-list bloggers to hungerly contemplate the relevance of Freedom and Justice – the things that Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke so passionately about.

So you say you want to make a better world? Really?!

Anyway, fluffing the day (MLK Day) is inappropriate – if you say that you are a proud and belligerent American. [grin]

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Martin Luther King, Jr., I Have A Dream Speech

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What is Occupy Wall Street? And other social media DOHs #ows

What is Occupy Wall Street? 

by Stan Faryna

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Elvis Presley, Amazing Grace

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Often, I do not spell out the social media lesson. I treat my blog posts that do illuminate social media DOHs as parables. The parable here is especially elusive and I allow it to remain so. Because we must accustom ourselves to the reality that the heart will know things long before the mind can comprehend.

Some of you may know that I have recently made several comments on Bruce Sallan’s blog post, The Value of Money and Occupy Wall Street, and to the comments there. However, the most important of those comments, perhaps, is the one I publish here. I understand that it reproduces poorly here out of context – at least at it’s start. Because I begin my comment by addressing a comment that attempts to analyze the OWS movement according to Martin Luther King, Jr.’s philosophy on civil disobedience and non-violent protest.

At the end of my long comment, I answer the question, what is Occupy Wall Street about.

I may be wrong. And I may be mistaken about many things. It is my intuitional opinion and it being an opinion and an intuition, it is neither necessarily right, wrong, worthwhile, nor useless. It just is.

You be the judge of whether or not my opinion speaks loudly to your heart or not. Because you alone are responsible for what you accept into your heart as a compelling instance of the beautiful, the good, and the true.

The Inaugural Speech of President Barack Obama

Times are changing by Bob Dylan
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The Inaugural Speech of President Barack Obama

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

My fellow citizens,

I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.

Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers, and true to our founding documents.

So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.

To American Veterans: Thank you and God bless!

Below, American Soldier by Toby Keith
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Veterans Day

As Veterans Day fast approaches, I have found myself reflecting on the service and sacrifice of American men and woman who have served, and now serve, our much blessed Nation. In war time and peace, their service and valor have been a cornerstone in our cause for Freedom, progress and prosperity. From the first shots at Concord in 1775 to the peacekeepers of Enduring Freedom, our veterans have served us valiantly.

We owe them all a great debt of gratitude and many thanks.

Thank you and God bless.

In celebration of American veterans, I am posting the complete lyrics of the National Anthem, The Star-Spangled Banner and a youtube video of the anthem by the academy choirs.

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The Star-Spangled Banner

O! say can you see by the dawn’s early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming.
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
O’er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming.
And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe’s haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o’er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning’s first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
‘Tis the star-spangled banner! Oh long may it wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle’s confusion,
A home and a country should leave us no more!
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps’ pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

O! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war’s desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav’n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: ‘In God is our trust.’
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

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Stan Faryna
November 7, 2008
Washington, D.C.

A great step forward or the step down?

Below, Martin Luther King, Jr.’s I have a Dream speech.
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Thomas Sowell

Thomas Sowell, celebrated Hoover Institute Scholar, author and black conservative, writes:

“Whatever one may think about Obama as a candidate or as a potential President, his candidacy has brought something new to the American political scene.”

Since Ronald Reagan, no presidential candidate has emphasized hope and change and generated so much enthusiasm as Senator Barack Obama. That’s not all we’ve come to see and know during this presidential campaign. After four decades of pretending to be the champion of minority interest, the Democrat’s racial preferences were exposed when Billary understood that the chances for another Clinton White House were getting slim. On the other side, quite a few white Republicans have been gleefully chanting, ‘Yes, we can.” Some on the right side are not quite as stupid and unpatriotically obedient as was presupposed.

Lee Walker

My friend and political mentor, Lee Walker of the New Coalition for Economic and Social Change, writes of Obama:

“Obama’s message is that it is not too late for America to change from some bad habits to better habits… Barack Obama’s presidential candidacy is powerful confirmation of the truth of Booker T. Washington’s vision of hard work and self-reliance as the route to success for blacks as for all Americans.

This is an historical presidential election. It is a unique opportunity. Do we make a great step forward? Or does America take a step down from the stage of history? These are interesting times. America is in need of a prophet- even one from Illinois. The time has come for us to join hands together as we honor our proud American heritage with the inauguration of America’s first black president. And were he alive today, Alexis de Tocqueville, the much studied European commentator on the American legacy, would strongly agree.

Barrack Obama

Now is the time. Let us be satisfied. Let Freedom ring through the halls and offices of the White House.

America and the world have great expectations of this moment. I hope and I pray that we Americans and Senator Barrack Obama… will not fail.

Now is the time.

Now has come the time for change. For hope. For justice to roll down.

Yes, we can.

Below, Jordin Sparks singing the National Anthem.
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Stan Faryna
November 4, 2008
Fairfax, Virginia

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FEED UPON posts about moby, the electronic pop star, and me:

>> Easter Pilgrimage to Bucovina (A Four Part Recollection)
>> Good Friday and Happy Easter
>> Austin, Democrats and Degenerates
>> Concidence and Melancholy
>> Bucharest and Chestie
>> New moby album coming out, Last Night

Or, perhaps, you may be interested in my other posts:

>> Get Good Coffee – Know how to make a great cup of coffee?
>> Second Amendment – What’s the US Supreme Court saying?
>> Facism and Romania – Is this a European trend?
>> Outsourcing – Is outsourcing still a cost saver?
>> Great Websites – What makes a website, great?
>> IAB Europe – What is the Interactive Advertising Bureau?
>> Online Strategy – What are marketing people talking about?
>> Open Source – Did it deliver on the 90’s promise?

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About Stan Faryna

Mr. Faryna is the founder and co-founder of several technology, design and communication companies in the United States and Europe including Faryna & Associates, Inc., Halo Interactive, and others.

Stan Faryna is also a Global Voices author and translator. Global Voices is a non-profit global citizens’ media project founded at Harvard Law School’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society, a research think-tank focused on the Internet’s impact on society.

His political, scholarly, social and technical opinions have appeared in The Chicago Defender, Jurnalul National, The Washington Times, Sagar, Saptamana Financiara, Social Justice Review, and other publications.

Mr. Faryna also served as editor-in-chief of Black and Right (Praeger Press, 1996), a landmark collection of socio-political essays by important American thinkers including U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

Copyright

Copyright 1996 to 2008 by Stan Faryna.

Here’s my fair use policy for my content:

If you want to share my content with your own audience, you may quote a brief excerpt, if and only if, you provide proper attribution (Source: The unofficial blog of Stan Faryna) with a direct link to the source. Generally speaking, as long as you are not acting as an agent or on behalf of a corporation or institution, I am not interested in any payment for the quotation or use of a complete article. Nevertheless, you may not republish or translate the entire article without my written permission. Send your request for permission by inmail through Linkedin or contact me through Buzzfuse.

Yes, we can- to the cause of Freedom.

This patsak will finally admit that for nth time, I have viewed will.i.am’s video for The Yes We Can Song. Based on an inspiring speech by Senator Barack Obama at a New Hampshire event, the video amplified the inspiration and it has went viral at warp speed.

The video is a masterpiece. It’s from the heart. It’s art. will.i.am, front man for hip hop phenomenon Black Eyed Peas and Director Jesse Dylan are media masters- will’s success in music already says as much. As a musical artist, will has demonstrated a strong feel for the pulse of a generation several times. The video has the the ingredients to move people to action. In my humble opinion, you can’t get better viral than this.

will.i.am schools Ogilvy – all of the big ad agencies, in fact. Naturally, Republicans and Hillary Clinton are not very happy about this triumph.

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Senator Obama, a Democrat, served eight years in the Illinois State Senate and since 2005 as a U.S. Senator for Illinois. Among his many achievements, he was the first African American president of the Harvard Law Review. As everyone knows, Obama is running for president and Obama’s candidacy for president is endorsed up and down from celebrities to senators including Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA). Described as a socialist by the right and all talk by Hillary Clinton, “the Illinois prophet” speaks clearly and down-to-earth with powerful words and wisdom like a Baptist minister.

What is surprising is that his mix of spiritual and political message does not seem to be offending liberals. Often quoting the bible by verse and number, he is an evangelist that speaks often about human dignity, empathy and compassion for our fellow man- not to mention the possibility of change, of healing America and repairing the world.

Yes, we can.

Here’s the message that I left on that blog:

I’m going to suspend my disappointment, suspicion, disillusionment and hesitation. will.i.am gave something strong from his heart and from his hope. We all need to give something strong from our heart and hope- if we are to change.

That change must be that we will join together in a common cause and hope as one people and one nation to further pursue the cause of Freedom.

This does not mean that I or you should abandon what we believe as individuals to be true, good and beautiful.

We must follow our conscience, each of us, but we must also work together and speak together because there are things that we can agree upon and accomplish together.

And, together, we can believe again that we are one people, one nation and one will for a common good, for a DREAM, and a freedom that embraces responsibility.

Here’s something from my heart and my hope to you…

Yes, we can.

Stan Faryna
Editor-in-chief of “Black and Right: The Bold New Voice of Black Conservatives in America” (Praeger, 1996)