Striders20Bar20• Show poetry

"The American people will not be deceived by anyone who attempts to suppress individual liberty under the pretense of patriotism."

Franklin D. Roosevelt, (FDR), 32nd President of the U.S.

from his Fireside chat on Party Primaries, Washington, D.C., June 24, 1938
As quoted in the book: "Nothing to Fear" - The Selected Addresses of Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1932 - 1945, edited by Ben D. Zevin Preface by Harry L Hopkins
With a special introduction by Allan Nevins
Popular Library Edition, Published in September, 1961

Copyright 1946 by The World Publishing Company


Printed in the United States of America

No Library of Congress Catalog Number; and no ISBN

Related links:

Fireside Chat on Party Primaries: http://www.mhric.org/fdr/chat13.html

http://special.lib.umn.edu/rare/roosevelt.phtml#Books

For more information on Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR), just click on this Google link:

http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=RNWO,RNWO:2008-24,RNWO:en&q=%3CFranklin+Delano+Roosevelt%3E


"A man who tries to carry a cat home by its tail will learn a lesson that can be learned in no other way"
-Mark Twain-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Twain

http://www.cmgww.com/historic/twain/

For more information about Mark Twain, just click on this Google link:

http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=RNWO,RNWO:2008-24,RNWO:en&q=%3CMark+Twain%3E

"If mankind minus one were of one opinion, then mankind is no more justified in silencing the one than the one - if he had the power - would be justified in silencing mankind."

John Stuart Mill, Born 1806 - died 1873

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Stuart_Mill

For more information about John Stuart Mill, just click on this Google link:

http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=RNWO,RNWO:2008-24,RNWO:en&q=%3CJohn+Stuart+Mill%3E

"It is the greatest happiness of the greatest number that is the measure of right and wrong."

Jeremy Bentham
http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/bios/Bentham.html

For more information on Jeremy Bentham, just click on this Google link:

http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=RNWO,RNWO:2008-24,RNWO:en&q=%3CJeremy+Bentham%3E

"MY SOUL IS MY COUNSEL and has taught me to give ear to the voices which are created neither by tongues nor uttered by throats.
"Before my soul became my counsel, I was dull, and weak of hearing, reflecting only upon the tumult and the cry. But, now, I can listen to silence with serenity and can hear in the silence the hymns of ages chanting exaltation to the sky and revealing the secrets of eternity."

By: KAHLIL GIBRAN, From 'Mirrors of the Soul, facing title page; Translated by Joseph Sheban Philosophical Library, New York Copyright 1965, Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 65-10658

http://leb.net/gibran/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khalil_Gibran


Khalil Gibran (full name Gibran Khalil Gibran bin Mikhael bin Saâd, Arabic: جبران خليل جبران بن ميخائيل بن سعد, Syriac: ܟ݂ܠܝܠ ܔܒܪܢ (January 6, 1883 – April 10, 1931) was a Lebanese American artist, poet and writer. He was born in Lebanon (at the time the Mount Lebanon Province of the Ottoman Empire) and spent most of his life in the United States. He is the third bestselling poet in history after Shakespeare and Lao Tse. [1]

For more information on Kahlil Gibran, just click on this Google link:

http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=RNWO,RNWO:2008-24,RNWO:en&q=%3CKahlil+Gibran%3E

Related Link: Ottoman Empire

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottoman_Empire

For more information on the Ottoman Empire, just click on this Google link:


http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=RNWO,RNWO:2008-24,RNWO:en&q=%3COttoman+Empire%3E

for copies of the classical poetry listed, just click on the appropriate URL:

1. Around the Corner by Charles Hansen Towne

http://www.yuni.com/library/docs/354.html

2. It Couldn't Be Done by Edgar A Guest

http://www.apples4theteacher.com/holidays/graduation/poems-rhymes/it-couldnt-be-done.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_Guest

3. They First Came... (a poem regarding the Holocaust)


Poem (1976 version)

Als die Nazis die Kommunisten holten,
habe ich geschwiegen;
ich war ja kein Kommunist.
Als sie die Sozialdemokraten einsperrten,
habe ich geschwiegen;
ich war ja kein Sozialdemokrat.

Als sie die Gewerkschafter holten,
habe ich nicht protestiert;
ich war ja kein Gewerkschafter.

Als sie die Juden holten,
habe ich geschwiegen;
ich war ja kein Jude.

Als sie mich holten,
gab es keinen mehr, der protestieren konnte.

Original Translation:


When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.
When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.

When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.

When they came for the Jews,
I remained silent;
I was not a Jew.

When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_they_came...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Holocaust

For more information on the Holocaust, just click on these Google links:

http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=RNWO,RNWO:2008-24,RNWO:en&q=%3CHolocaust%3E

http://www.leaderu.com/marco/special/spc16.html

4. Desiderata by Max Ehrmann

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desiderata

http://www.fleurdelis.com/desidera.htm

5. To A Waterfowl by William Cullen Bryant

http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/webtexts/Bryant/waterfowl.html

6. A Psalm of Life by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poet.html?id=81397

7. Crossing the Bar by Alfred Lord Tennyson

http://charon.sfsu.edu/TENNYSON/tennyson.html

8. The Fool's Prayer by Edward R. Sill

http://www.poetry-archive.com/s/the_fools_prayer.html

9. The Eternal Goodness by John Greenleaf Whittier

http://wwwl.kimopress.com/whittier.htm

http://www.all-creatures.org/poetry/theeternalgoodness.html

10. Yellow Triangle by Christy Moore

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7y-9FqLluQ

11. Charters of Freedom, is a web site where one can find legible copies of the United States' "Declaration of Independence"; the United States Constitution, and the first 10 Admendments to the United States Constitution, which for U.S. Citizens, and others, is known as the "Bill of Rights".

http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/

For more information about the United States Constitution and specifically, our Bill of Rights, just
clik on this Google Reference:

http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=RNWO,RNWO:2008-24,RNWO:en&q=%3CBill+of+Rights%3E

12. "The Salutation of the Dawn, a poem from the ancient Sanskrit Language.

http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=RNWO,RNWO:2008-24,RNWO:en&q=Salutation+of+the+Dawn+%2D+Sanskrit

One of the most unique Bibles, that I have ever read is: "The Jefferson Bible - The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth"
by Thomas Jefferson, 3rd President of the United States, (1743-1826).

Published by Beacon Press - Unitarian Universalist Assoc. of Congregations.
Copyright 1989, All rights reserved, printed in the USA
International Standard Book Number (ISBN): 0-8070-7714-3

Google Link:

http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=RNWO,RNWO:2008-24,RNWO:en&q=%3CThe+Jefferson+Bible+%2D+Thomas+Jefferson%3E

For more information about the life and writings of Thomas Jefferson, 3rd President of the United States,
Just click on this Google Link:


http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=RNWO,RNWO:2008-24,RNWO:en&q=%3C+Thomas+Jefferson%3E





Liberty Tree
by Thomas Paine


IN a chariot of light from the regions of day,

The Goddess of Liberty came;

Ten thousand celestials directed the way,

And hither conducted the dame.

A fair budding branch from the gardens above,

Where millions with millions agree,

She brought in her hand as a pledge of her love,

And the plant she named Liberty Tree.

The celestial exotic struck deep in the ground,

Like a native it flourished and bore;

The fame of its fruit drew the nations around,

To seek out this peaceable shore.

Unmindful of names or distinctions they came,

For freemen like brothers agree;

With one spirit endued, they one friendship pursued,

And their temple was Liberty Tree.

Beneath this fair tree, like the patriarchs of old,

Their bread in contentment they ate

Unvexed with the troubles of silver and gold,

The cares of the grand and the great.

With timber and tar they Old England supplied,

And supported her power on the sea;

Her battles they fought, without getting a groat,

For the honor of Liberty Tree.

But hear, O ye swains, 'tis a tale most profane,

How all the tyrannical powers,

Kings, Commons and Lords, are uniting amain,

To cut down this guardian of ours;

From the east to the west blow the trumpet to arms,

Through the land let the sound of it flee,

Let the far and the near, all unite with a cheer,

In defence of our Liberty Tree.

Retrieved from "http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Liberty_Tree"

http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Liberty_Tree

For more information on Thomas Paine, just click on this Google Link:

http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=RNWO,RNWO:2008-24,RNWO:en&q=%3CThomas+Paine%3E


For information on the Sons of Liberty, click on this link:

http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=RNWO,RNWO:2008-24,RNWO:en&q=%3CSons+of+Liberty%3E

For information on the historic Boston Tea Party, click on this link:

http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/teaparty.htm

For more information on the Boston Tea Party, just click on this Google link:

http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=RNWO,RNWO:2008-24,RNWO:en&q=%3CBoston+Tea+Party%3E


The following poem is one I value, because it reflects my ecumenical spiritual beliefs (which also include non-christian spiritual teachings):

MY CHURCH



My church has but one temple,
Wide as the world is wide,
Set with a million stars,
Where a million hearts abide.

My church has no creed to bar
A single brother man
But says, "come thou and worship"
To every one who can.

My church has no roof; no walls,
Nor floors save the beautiful sod-
For fear, I would seem to limit
The love of the illimitable God.

Author Unknown

members.tripod.com/do_you_believe/inspire/church

http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=RNWO,RNWO:2008-24,RNWO:en&q=%3Cmy+church+%2D+poem%3E

For information on Earth Mother Religions, just click on this (external) Google Link:

http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=RNWO,RNWO:2008-24,RNWO:en&q=Earth+Mother+Religions


- Access name inspired by the writings of J R R Tolkien.

Please click on this Google link for more information on Tolkien's
"Lord of the Rings", trilogy.

http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=RNWO,RNWO:2008-24,RNWO:en&q=%3CJ+R+R+Tolkien%27s+%2D+Lord+of+the+Rings%3E



Cher Ami
by Harry Webb Farrington



Cher Ami, how do you do!
Listen, let me talk to you;
I'll not hurt you, don't you see?
Come a little close to me.

Little scrawny blue and white
Messenger for men who fight,
Tell me of the deep, red scar,
There, just where no feathers are.

What about your poor left leg?
Tell me, Cher Ami, I beg.
Boys and girls are at a loss,
How you won that Silver Cross.


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

"The finest fun that came to me
Was when I went with Whittlesey;
We marched so fast, so far ahead!
'We all are lost,' the keeper said;

'Mon Cher Ami--that's my dear friend--
You are the one we'll have to send;
The whole battalion now is lost,
And you must win at any cost.'

So with the message tied on tight;
I flew up straight with all my might,
Before I got up high enough,
Those watchfull guns began to puff.

Machine-gun bullets came like rain,
You'd think I was an aeroplane;
And when I started to the rear,
My! the shot was coming near!

But on I flew, straight as a bee;
The wind could not catch up with me,
Until I dropped out of the air,
Into our own men's camp, so there!"


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

But, Cher Ami, upon my word,
You modest, modest little bird;
Now don't you know that you forgot?
Tell how your breast and leg were shot.


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

"Oh, yes, the day we crossed the Meuse,
I flew to Rampont with the news;
Again the bullets came like hail,
I thought for sure that I should fail.

The bullets buzzed by like a bee,
So close, it almost frightened me;
One struck the feathers of this sail,
Another went right through my tail.

But when I got back to the rear,
I found they hit me, here and here;
But that is nothing, never mind;
Old Poilu, there is nearly blind.

I only care for what they said,
For when they saw the way I bled,
And found in front a swollen lump,
The message hanging from this stump;

The French and Mine said, 'Tres bien,'
Or 'Very good'--American.
'Mon Cher Ami, you brought good news;
Our Army's gone across the Meuse!

You surely had a lucky call!
And so I'm glad. I guess that's all.
I'll sit, so pardon me, I beg;
It's hard a-standing on one leg!"



"Cher Ami" and Poems From France
Rough & Brown Press, 1920

http://www.homeofheroes.com/wings/part1/3b_cherami.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cher_Ami


http://www.abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=3870520&page=1