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Agnes Varnum is a freelance writer, film programmer and communications manager for the Austin Film Society. She is the primary contributor to doc it out and Tribeca Film Institute's Resources.

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Sleeping with the Enemy…

March 23rd, 2006 • Related Posts • Tags

Indigo Girls’ Our Deliverance

They’re sending soldiers to distant places
X’s and O’s on someone’s drawing board
Like green and plastic but with human faces
And they want to tell you it’s a merciful sword
But with all the blood newly dried in the desert
Can we not fertilize the land with something else
There is no nation by god exempted
Lay down your weapons and love your neighbor as yourself
In the night fall when the light falls
And what you’ve seen isn’t there anymore
It’s through our blind trust that love will find us
Just like it has before

The US is a contradictory place. The documents that we hold so dear espouse an ideal of freedom and justice for all, but in reality, even at that time, it was partly fiction. The genocide of Native people and enslavement of Africans belied those lofty goals. And obviously we haven’t ever recognized or resolved the contradictions. Nasdijj (The Blood Runs Like a River Through My Dreams) wrote that we are our history and I believe him, but I’m afraid others do not.

There Are 2 Responses So Far. »

  1. Comment by robertscales on 25 March 2006:

    Was our conversation the catalyst of this post?

    Don’t forget that the very essence of the Declaration of Independence also state that it is the “duty of each citizen to take action to ensure that the values of the nation be safeguarded”. That is no longer true, since any action would be perceived as an act of terrorism and would be punishable under the homeland security act.

  2. Comment by agnes on 25 March 2006:

    I have to admit that the conversation lingered with me. Your comment touched a nerve of deep guilt in me that has existed since I can remember. The realization that others think about me the worst I think of myself is a tough pill to swallow.

    There will always be empires rising (and falling) and people in power that disregard the rights of others…Being a US citizen is a little like “sleeping with the enemy.” However, all of our prophets over the ages have told us that change begins within ourselves, and that failure to meet an ideal doesn’t mean we shouldn’t strive for it all the same. I needed to remind myself that I can’t allow others’ judgment to make me insecure. I work everyday on being respectful, generous and helpful towards others, and in that, I can be proud.