Circuitous Noodle: Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. & a special day to follow

I have a dream

"Don't ever let anyone pull you so low as to hate them. We must use the weapon of love. We must have the compassion and understanding for those who hate us. We must realize so many people are taught to hate us that they are not totally responsible for their hate. But we stand in life at midnight; we are always on the threshold of a new dawn."

on War

"In struggling for human dignity the oppressed people of the world must not allow themselves to become bitter or indulge in hate campaigns. To retaliate with hate and bitterness would do nothing but intensify the hate in the world. Along the way of life, someone must have sense enough and morality enough to cut off the chain of hate. This can be done only by projecting the ethics of love to the center of our lives."
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Barack Obama Speaks at Dr. King's Church
On the day before the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday Sunday, Jan 20, 2008
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Jimmy Durante - GIVE A MAN A JOB (1933)

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I'm going to say something a bit extreme. I thought about not saying it. In fact I am agonizing over it, even now. Here it goes. Is allowing the auto plants that retooled to make the jeeps, tanks and other equipment that was absolutely necassary to win WWII, to close down a bit like spitting in Pearl Harbor? Because of these factories and the people (Rosie the Riveter) who made them crank out all that they were asked to do we won the necessary manufacturing element of the war.

Civilian cars were not made during this period because they turned their production lines over to the war effort against fascism. In fact, this country was once awashed in a variety of factories providing every kind of thing necessary for the well being of any nation.

With only a few exceptions all manufacturing was turned over to defeating fascism in Europe. I can't help but believe that the loss of our manufacturing base is a serious threat to our national security.

People willingly, maybe sometime begrudgingly, submitted themselves to a variety of inconveniences for the good of the country. Things like rationing of gasoline, meat, rubber, even bubble gum. People did what they could and did without for the good of the US, those fighting and mom and apple pie.

We are in a similar situation, today, in America, requiring the efforts and sacrifices of us all.

I was intending, at the time I originally wrote those words, to complain about the apparent lack of a picth-in spirit, of far ,too many, of the following generations. I'm not going to do that now. Barack Obama, is taking, President John F. Kennedy's, "Ask not what your country can do for you, but ask what you can do for your country", and super-charging it with good examples.
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We've liked this guy since Iowa. But, today, I, was incredibly impressed by both him and his wife and the person and his wife he chose as a running mate. He did not have to do any of the things he did today. He's already won. I doubt that, in fact I believe I'm safe in assuming, that nothing like this has ever been conducted by the winning presidential team in the history of our nation.

He worked painting at a teen homeless shelter, visiting injured active-duty military and vets at Walter Reed and speaking abut the public responsibility and necessity of volunteer service at a high school, after which Barack and Michelle, shook every one's hand in the cafeteria setting..

And if all that wasn't saintly enough he's having a dinner for Senator John McCain, tonight.

The Last President-Elect Weekly Speech