antiwar presentation: do i drop knowledge or rouse the rabble, that is the question

SUNDAY MORNING

nailed it

nice rally, real oldschool, community and su students
i was moved to be part of it

there was a contingent of iraqi veterans against the war there
apparently they had initiated it
active duty iraq vets from fort drum, so i opened up with an old

marching cadence in solidarity, right after the conch, sang

the morning son is rising, the captains had his say , you pray to god
youll see another day - in vietnam vietnam vietnam

and identified myself - head and head, 1st of the 505, 82nd airborne
vietnam blew my young mind - and as i watch another generation march off . . .

and then segued into the text - yada yada
you have to be flexible like that, adjust to the moment

young soldier w/the maroon airborne beret came up after my presentation
said he was glad i was there, i told him no man, im glad you here

i wanted to do the bit about vietnam making me aware of being part of history
that history is not something happen to other folk other places other times

history is now - and what we do this day
means something to future generations

i think it would have meant something to those young dissident soldiers to make that point
but i didnt have but 4 minutes and they were rushing me off stage as it was

i had clocked my presentation at 4 minutes but the crowd kept applauding and cheering
and messed with my timing, i will never again accept a 4 minute time slot

in struggle
rdoc

WEDNESDAY NIGHT

hello world, got to work out that presentation for saturday
got to get it going cause i dont like to be slack, i like to be ready

when its showtime i like to show, wihch mean i have to get
that draft right now so i can be working it a couple of days

four minutes or less they say, thats cool, less time to fill, hit it
and quit it rick, thats the way i like it, who was that masked man

so, the big question is, do i drop knowledge
or do i rouse the rabble

to storm the barricades
be nice to do both

----------------------------------------------

(lord legba, open this gate)
then the conch (keep it tight)

there come those times in the well lived life, when you feel the need
to stand up and be counted - that time has come, that time is now

when I was first was asked to do this thing today I said no
told peacecouncil i was gon be out of town, thanks for asking me

cause i didnt feel like the hassle, the effort, the anxiety of getting up here
trying to move the people in 4 minutes or less, and i was like look here partner ima pass

but I thought about it, decided it was time to stand up and be counted

decided this gathering of the faithful, this action we have mounted here today
Is bigger than the war in iraq, this is a battle for the soul of america

and this a battle we can not afford to lose
bush been a blessing, a wake up call

we had gotten complacent
forgot this an ongoing struggle, this aluta continua

we let the right wing outorganize us, all this happen this last 6 years or so
this your fault, this my fault  -  this been 20 30 years in the making

we was chilling while they was organizing, coming up w/new ways of mobilizing      their forces
forging the tactics of tomorrow while we still stuck in the 60s

marches and protests, the makedo strategies of the weak and the powerless
21st century yall, got to get our game on

something they havent seen before, something they not ready for
longgame strategies designed to shape us into the people we need to be

got to think in generations – longgame
destinywork – shaping souls

been a warrior in the struggle all my life
but I am no longer a young and vigorous warrior

i am an old warhorse now, hopefully wise and wily and i have been through enough
campaigns that it is the long campaign I concern myself with now

how does one live a life of grace and achievement that is still a lifelong commitment
to struggle  - how do you avoid burnout in a lifetime of struggle, effective struggle

o i have become comfortable with the glacial pace of social change.

phases of struggle come and go.  you win some you lose some, you keep on struggling
you note the lessons you make your adjustments    you keep on struggling

every day and every way, relentless, focused, smart and strategic
building institutions, shaping generations

then when you come to those crossroads moments, when destiny lies
in the choice of the moment, moments like this one, this very moment, you ready

to stand up and be counted, got resources to bring to the table
that time has come, that time is now

we got a emperor say he dont need no clothes, say who you gon believe, me or your
lying eyes - well this america we got now, this is not an america i want to live in

this is not a world I want to pass on to my children

so i got back to the peace council folk and i said yeah, ill be there
cause i wanted    to be here     today     with you     my peeps in the struggle

fired up and ready to go
getting they game on

be able to tell my children i was there  - i stood up, i was
counted - during the great gitting up morning

and i would that you leave here this evening renewed   in struggle
refreshed and regenerated    in struggle

strong in your power, confident in the victory of all that is good,
all that makes us human, all that makes us care

weve come a long way you and i,  weve climbed some difficult mountains
but we still got so very far to go.

and when the hardtimes come, and they always do, I want you to keep
on keeping on     hold on you must be strong     you fight the battles friend

nobody else could win  (bluesharp closure)
nobody else could win

that is all

in the name of the conqueror
this spell is done

---------------------------------

decided to go with dropping science

once upon a time i would have roused the rabble
an elder statesman now, i prefer to drop science

when i do move the people, i want to move them well
move them to true power

notice i open w/legba, close w/the conqueror
in accordance w/de hoodoo book of flowers

raining outside, some lightning, rumbling thunder
one of my faces stormbringer you know

this my kind of weather
page clocking weather

rickydoc on a sungun
360%

Comments

[Lesley-Ann Brown]

Thanks Arthur...this is really real, to the point and much needed.

Hugs,
the lab