Extra Credit: Breathing


Extra Credit: Breathing

George Floyd’s last words were “I can’t breathe.” The Declaration of Independence guarantees life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Yet almost three weeks ago an agent of the state took away George Floyd’s right to life, without which liberty and happiness cannot be pursued.  The initial police report merely said that in the course of his arrest Mr. Floyd had a medical emergency, was transported to the ER, and died there. If not for cell phones we would never have known the truth. It raises the issue of how often people, especially black people, have been murdered by the police before we had cell phones.

The first amendment guarantees “The right of people peaceably to assemble and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” Yet we see the police violently breaking up peaceful demonstrations, armed with weapons, including assault rifles.

The fourth amendment guarantees us “ against unreasonable searchers and seizures.”  Yet under the Patriot  Act the government is seizing all of our metadata without a warrant.

The Constitution reserves the right to declare war to the legislature. Yet our presidents have been sending American troops into battle without a declaration of war. There is nothing in the constitution for an Authorization for the Use of Military Force.

It is our responsibility as citizens to oppose such violations of our Constitutional rights.     As Carl Schurz said in 1872 “ My country right or wrong ; if right, to be kept right; and if wrong , to be set right. “

Talkin' About  A Revolution  by Tracy Chapman (1988)

Talkin' About A Revolution 
    Tracy Chapman
Don't you know
They're talkin' 'about a revolution
It sounds like a whisper
Don't you know
They're talkin' about a revolution
It sounds like a whisper
While they're standing in the welfare lines
Crying at the doorsteps of those armies of salvation
Wasting time in the unemployment lines
Sitting around waiting for a promotion
Don't you know
They're talkin' 'about a revolution
It sounds like a whisper
Poor people gonna rise up
And get their share
Poor people gonna rise up
And take what's theirs
Don't you know
You better run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run
Oh I said you better
Run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run
'Cause finally the tables are starting to turn
Talkin' about a revolution
Yes, finally the tables are starting to turn
Talkin' about a revolution, oh no
Talkin' about a revolution, oh
While they're standing in the welfare lines
Crying at the doorsteps of those armies of salvation
Wasting time in the unemployment lines
Sitting around waiting for a promotion
Don't you know
They're talkin' 'about a revolution
It sounds like a whisper
And finally the tables are starting to turn
Talkin' about a revolution
Yes, finally the tables are starting to turn
Talkin' about a revolution, oh no
Talkin' about a revolution, oh no
Talkin' about a revolution, oh no






Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Question 2 The Plague

Image
Question 2. There have been many epidemics in the past, some of which were so widespread that they could be called pandemics. The plague begin in China in 1331, by 1347 it had affected Europe and the Middle East.  In the first wave of infection in Europe it was thought that half of Europe’s population died. The mortality rate of the infection was as high as 90%. There is no immunity to the plague, and even today the mortality rate is 11%. The plague had some important consequences. The Mongol Empire and Its Silk Road trade suffered enormously and lead to the end of the Mongol Empire. In Europe the loss of the population was so severe that workers demanded higher wages which led to social tension and may have played a role in several peasant revolts. The devastation of the Mongol Empire led to an increase in European sea traffic, trade, and exploration.   Another great epidemic was the Great Dying. When the Spanish conquered MesoAmerica and the great i...
Read more

From The Epic of Gilgamesh

Image
From  The Epic of Gilgamesh (abbreviated version) In the wildness she created valiant Enkidu , born of Silence, endowed with strength by Ninurta. His whole body was shaggy with hair, he had a full head of hair like a woman, his locks billowed in profusion like Ashnan. He knew neither people nor settled living,. He ate grasses with the gazelles, and jostled at the watering hole with the animals; as with animals, his thirst was slaked with mere water. A  notorious trapper came face-to-face with him opposite the watering hole. 
On seeing him t he trapper's face went stark with fear ,
 and he and his animals drew back home.
  The trapper was rigid with fear;  though stock-still
 his heart pounded and his face drained of color.
 He addressed his father saying:       "Father, a certain fellow has come from the mountains.        He is the mightiest in the land...
Read more

It was surprising to learn....

Image
It was surprising to learn that ecological destruction by human actions is not something new in our current era of anthropogenic climate change that threatens the very existence of life on earth. Thus, while agriculture saw an enormous advance in ancient Mesopotamia, it came at the cost of the eventual destruction of that very agriculture. Thus, in order to grow crops, deforestation cleared the land for agriculture, but this ultimately led to soil erosion. In addition, the advanced technique of irrigation led to salination   of the land and loss of its fertility. Beeing from Brazil I can relate to this. They burning the Amazon Forest in order to grow crops and to drill for oil and to mine minerals, the Amazon Forest is important to the world as a sink for carbon dioxide. Loss of this sink will make climate change worse.
Read more