The great heart of Belarus awakensTo greet this new day.Her face shines brightlyAgainst centuries of subjectionTo ill-fitting lowness.She rises proudly, casts offHer tattered prisoner’s garmentWorn threadbare by generations of toil.She washes her face, cleans her feetRinses from her handsThe grit and grime of oppression.This morning she knows—Liberty awaits her in the open air.This morning she …
The news came of his arrest—Her light, her love, her lifeGone in an instant.They spoke of thisBut she refused to accept it.This time will be differentThey saidSitting in the moonlightFeeling the electric momentHearing the youthful criesHeeding the call to greater freedom.This time truth shall outLies and hatred,Selfish oppression,A lifelong nightmare.Those who seeShall lock armsStare in …
"The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter." - Winston Churchill I fear for the future of our great nation. We’ve gone a long way on the momentum generated by our forefathers, but we’ve made two mistakes in the field of education that I feel compromise our ability to maintain …
"Liberty means responsibility. That is why most men dread it." ~ George Bernard Shaw Freedom is balanced by responsibility in all matters. Too much freedom with too little responsibility produces situations that quickly spiral out of control. Insufficient freedom coupled with a heavy load of responsibility is likely to implode for lack of maneuvering room. …
"The second most deadly instrument of destruction is the dynamite gun [Editor's Note: this was written before the atomic bomb was invented though the point is still valid],—the first is the human tongue. The gun merely kills bodies; the tongue kills reputations and, ofttimes, ruins characters. Each gun works alone; each loaded tongue has a …
"The advancement and diffusion of knowledge is the only guardian of true liberty." ~ James Madison Seeing the images and videos of the various manifestations of rebellion known as the "Arab Spring" brings me back to the year of my high school graduation, 1989, and the fall of the Berlin Wall. As each piece of …
“Democracy needs to be reborn in each generation and education is its midwife.” ~ John Dewey, Twentieth Century Education Theorist A friend of mine recommended New York Times columnist David Brooks' recent TED presentation to me yesterday (David Brooks: The Social Animal) and after having listened to it I am pleased to pass it along …
I am reading a book recommended by a friend called "The Culture of Classicism", written by history professor Caroline Winterer. The author notes that the book "charts how Americans over the course of the 19th century fundamentally changed their relationship with classical antiquity, seeking in the remote past new guides for modern life." The late …
"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be." ~ Thomas Jefferson An informed nation hinges upon a citizenry desirous of the truth and a government steeped in the principles of transparency and trust. The farther we veer from these two …
I was disappointed yesterday to read in our local paper that only 28.3% of registered voters took the time to vote in yesterday's primary election. The article entitled "Apathy defeats anger in primary election" went on to note that only 14.82% of voters turned out for the 2008 Presidential primary election! The percentages border on embarrassing. …
Gregory Hake 