And the Voices Cry FREEDOM

ON THIS, THE BIRTHDAY OF A NATION…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Image of bull trampling foes…”

Palette of Narmer (3000 BC)

SCANDAL

Tyrants triumph over the weak, crushing the song… And the voices cry: “FREEDOM!”

 

 “If a man put out the eye of another man, his eye shall be put out.”

Code of Hammurabi (1790 BC)

ABUSES

I don’t want justice… give me revenge… And the voices cry: “FREEDOM!”

 

“Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people,  making widows their prey and robbing the fatherless..”

The prophet Isaiah 10:1-2 (700 BC)

INDULGENCES

Yet one must feed the fires of power and gluttony with endless souls… And the voices cry: “FREEDOM!”

 

“In peace, before him, we moved around in friendship. By his exalted word, all the kings who sit upon thrones. throughout the world, from the Upper Sea to the Lower Sea, who live in the districts far-off, the kings of the West, who dwell in tents, all of them.”

Cyrus Cylinder (539 BC)

SHAME

Empires of eloquence and endless hunger rape the harmony of treaties…  And the voices cry: “FREEDOM!”

 

“To no one will we sell, or deny, or delay, right or justice. [40}” 

Magna Carta (1215 AD)

OUTRAGE

Oratory rants and raves, justice for the right price… And the voices cry: “FREEDOM!”

 

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

The Declaration of Independence (1776 AD)

DISHONOR

We declare democracy for the people… especially those with influence… And the voices cry: “FREEDOM!”

 

“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.”

The New Colossus on the Statue of Liberty (1883 AD)

ARROGANCE

Drive out the renegades and rebels… those who cross our walled borders…  And the voices cry: “FREEDOM!”

 

“All peoples shall be equal; they shall enjoy the same respect and shall have the same rights. Nothing shall justify the domination of a people by another.”

African Banjul Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (1981 AD)

SORROW

And those in power give rhythmic, rhetoric, and hollow rhymes… May every voice in every land cry: "FREEDOM!" forevermore…

Author's Note

SOURCES OF POLITICAL REFERENCES

*Painting by Goya… The Third of May, 1808

*“Image of bull trampling foes…”
Palette of Narmer (considered first political history, circa 3000 BC)

*“If a man put out the eye of another man, his eye shall be put out.”
Code of Hammurabi (1790 BC)

*“Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people, making widow their prey and robbing the fatherless..”
The prophet Isaiah 10:1-2 (700 BC)

*“In peace, before him, we mov[ed] around in friendship. [By his] exalted [word], all the kings who sit upon thrones. throughout the world, from the Upper Sea to the Lower Sea, who live in the dis[tricts far-off], the kings of the West, who dwell in tents, all of them.”
Cyrus Cylinder (539 BC)

*“To no one will we sell, or deny, or delay, right or justice. [40}”
Magna Carta (June 15, 1215 AD)

*“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
The Declaration of Independence (July 4, 1776 AD)

*“Give me your tired, your poor,Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free”
Emma Lazarus (The New Colossus on the Statue of Liberty originally written 1883 AD)

*“All peoples shall be equal; they shall enjoy the same respect and shall have the same rights. Nothing shall justify the domination of a people by another.”
African Banjul Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Adopted June 27, 1981)

Reviews

[deeps]

You sure did your studying for this write;
Such a well written geograpic piece.
I love how you enclosed details in your Notes.
I love to see writes in which people research,
This is quite astounding.

[Tate Morgan]

Well we do seem to be of a dual nature and we do seem to falll more often than stand .It is a noble effort to impart wisdom.How soon we forget

[Muse]

This was a bit different for you Craig, I enjoyed this very much. :) FREEDOM!

[John Jackson (El Juero)]

Tour de Force assemblage here. I could not agree more.
Fantastic, Craig!

[M.Babu]

“All peoples shall be equal; they shall enjoy the same respect and shall have the same rights. Nothing shall justify the domination of a people by another.”

This line went right through me. The brilliance in this piece was overwhelming...the buildup was constant and the direction unpredictable...that made it all the more interesting to read!

Great words we should heed!

~M.Babu~

[Aaron M. Anderson]

Wow. Powerful use of historical quotes. The tension is brilliantly woven through each of them, and you point out the hypocrisy of "freedom" in human history. Fantastic!

[Steph K]

Sometimes you see work that you admire. What a powerful statement in a magnificent tie of words.

[nothingnothingforgetfor..]

I am not going to lie i have very much missed reading your work well gone over the past few weeks and being able to read another of your works is very lifting Craig. I am Canadian and we celebrated our countries birthday on July 1, as you Americans did July 4, and after reading this it reminds me of how lucky i am to be free, and live in such a great country where freedom echoes over the hilltops and bounds through the mountains and vibrates through every tree in our land. I feel not chains on my wrists or ankles, i feel as light as air living and breathing without restraint. And this piece my friend reminded me of that even more. We all have so much to be gracious for, and freedom should echo throughout the voice of our minds every night before the lights go out, and remind us of our good fortune day in an day out, that is so subtle that people often miss.

Its good to be home =)

And to all Canadians happy belated Canada Day, and to all our American Neighbours happy Independence Day! And to many more for the both of us.

[The Rock And Roll Cowbo..]

God gave us freewill so we may earn our way into heaven, politicians make laws to hold us down while they get richer... Your poem is certainly a loud n proud shout out to what this country should truly be about.