Demanding Change!

Gathered together,
strong, weathered, tired and tried.
Listening to lies,
Challenging the ties,
Not being bound,
destined to be found.

The truth is buried,
Crying to be uncovered.
Colors are struggling,
Screaming, "We are one!"

Put away your guns,
We will not be done!

Intimidation tactics,
just some childish antics.

Cries for peace will always be answered.


Today, along with about 400 members of the Phoenix community we gathered to demand a change in the tactics of Sheriff Joseph Arpaio. Many of the faith community gathered, community and labor organizers. It was a brave turnout since this "man" arrests people, makes the men wear pink underwear in an attempt to emmasculate them. They are handcuffed in pink handcuffs. Some are taken to the desert and housed in tents! This outrageous behavior has been allowed by the city government for too long! Citizens are demanding change! I encourage you to be informed about the injustices in Maricopa County.

Peace and Justice to all!

we object on the part of the awakening workers of this nation...

They have always taught and trained you to believe it to be your patriotic duty to go to war and to have yourselves slaughtered at their command. But in all the history of the world you, the people, have never had a voice in declaring war, and strange as it certainly appears, no war by any nation in any age has ever been declared by the people.

And here let me emphasize the fact-and it cannot be repeated too often-that the working class who fight all the battles, the working class who make the supreme sacrifices, the working class who freely shed their blood and furnish the corpses, have never yet had a voice in either declaring war or making peace. It is the ruling class that invariably does both. They alone declare war and they alone make peace.

Yours not to reason why;
Yours but to do and die.

That is their motto and we object on the part of the awakening workers of this nation.

If war is right let it be declared by the people.

-Eugene Debs 1918

Riddle

A man is talking to God.
The man: "God, how long is a million years?"
God: "To me, it's about a minute."
The man: "God, how much is a million dollars?"
God: "To me it's a penny."
The man: "God, may I have a penny?"
God: "Wait a minute."




Question: What comes once in a minute, twice in a moment, but not once in a thousand years?

I am the People, the Mob...

I Am The People, The Mob
Carl Sandburg



I am the people--the mob--the crowd--the mass.
Do you know that all the great work of the world is
done through me?

I am the workingman, the inventor, the maker of the
world's food and clothes.

I am the audience that witnesses history. The Napoleons
come from me and the Lincolns. They die. And
then I send forth more Napoleons and Lincolns.

I am the seed ground. I am a prairie that will stand
for much plowing. Terrible storms pass over me.
I forget. The best of me is sucked out and wasted.
I forget. Everything but Death comes to me and
makes me work and give up what I have. And I
forget.

Sometimes I growl, shake myself and spatter a few red
drops for history to remember. Then--I forget.

When I, the People, learn to remember, when I, the
People, use the lessons of yesterday and no longer
forget who robbed me last year, who played me for
a fool--then there will be no speaker in all the world
say the name: "The People," with any fleck of a
sneer in his voice or any far-off smile of derision.
The mob--the crowd--the mass--will arrive then.


-Francisco

New

New beginnings are like mornings: peaceful with the promise of more later. These days they’re cool and light, even early in the day.

I find myself savoring these moments. I know things will be rushed later in the summer, and inevitable deadlines and dilemmas will challenge me. But after the press of a semester’s end and what felt like non-stop student-dom day in and out, this time of new relationships and places, new information and procedure, new grace to goof up and learn is a change and a blessing.

-Cheryl

Long Rows of Solitude Lead to a New Beginning

An experience that has lead me to where I am happened when I was fifteen years old and was working amongst undocumented workers in corn fields, onion fields, and orchards. This experience helped me understand the condition of workers. At first, each row I walked through felt like a long journey of solitude, but then as my coworkers (mostly male) helped me I felt I was making progress. They cared for me, even though I had done nothing to deserve it. They taught me that all workers should be treated with dignity and respect no matter who they are or where they come from. We sometimes worked 16 hour days and it was very difficult me. However, I was fortunate to have been there by choice instead of by obligation or need. Some workers could not find another job. No matter what their skills were they had no choice but to work there in order to provide for their children. I admire those workers and I am so glad to have experienced this with them.My journey to this point in my life has been wonderful, I am a Junior at Seattle University majoring in Theology and Religious Studies. I feel called in this direction because I know that one’s faith has the power to transform one, it also motivates and influences one more than almost anything else. As I am growing, I am learning that we as humans are called to believe in God for many different reasons. I find refuge in God, with God’s help I have learned how to love more passionately and to accept the love that is given to me. I have also been inspired to do acts of mercy. This summer I am hoping to come to a better understanding of what God wants me to do. I know that I need to pray a little more and ask for help in order to find my true path. I am willing to explore many paths but I know that this exploration will lead me down a row that may be filled with solitude like the corn rows I worked in. However, sometimes those are the best rows because they give you time to reflect and gather your thoughts and when you least expect it someone joins you and is ready to help you get to the end. I hope that the people around me see the difficulty of “my row” and decide to come along for the journey. And when we reach the end there will be water waiting for us, which to me represents a new beginning, a baptism, a new life with God… We need this in our society and I have faith that it will be accomplished.

-Ydalia