(no subject)
/"And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from
parliaments and palaces, to those who are huddled around radios in
the forgotten corners of the world, our stories are singular, but
our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at
hand./
/To those - to those who would tear the world down: We will defeat
you. To those who seek peace and security: We support you. And to
all those who have wondered if America's beacon still burns as
bright: Tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our
nation comes not from the might of our arms or the scale of our
wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy,
liberty, opportunity and unyielding hope./ President-elect B. Obama
Herman Melville writing July 1863---watching New Yorkers rioting against Lincoln's call for conscription in the Civil War by attacking free blacks....
from The Housetop (a night piece)
"Yet fitfully from far breaks a mixed surf
Of muffled sound, the Atheist roar of riot.
Yonder, where parching Sirius set in drought,
Balefully glares red Arson--there--and there.
The Town is taken by its rats--ship-rats
And rats of the wharves. All civil charms
And priestly spells which late held hearts in awe--
Fear bound, subjected to a better sway
Than sway of self; these like a dream dissolve,
And man rebounds whole aeons back in nature."
How amazing that 142 years later, the great grandchildren of those Irish immigrants and free blacks met peacefully in Grant Park (and Times Square) to celebrate Lincoln's vision.
If you live anywhere near DC now is the time to contact your Congressman/woman for tickets to the Inauguration festivities---
For A*
http://www.house.gov/apps/list/speech/wa06_dicks/09inauguration.shtml