The House I Live In - Paul Robeson

"The House I Live In"

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by Paul Robeson (1898-1976)

 
THE HOUSE I LIVE IN (1947)
-------------------
What is America to me?
A name, a map or a flag I see,
A certain word, "Democracy",
What is America to me?

The house I live in,
The friends that I have found,
The folks beyond the railroad
and the people all around,
The worker and the farmer,
the sailor on the sea,
The men who built this country,
that's America to me.

The words of old Abe Lincoln,
of Jefferson and Paine,
of Washington and Jackson
and the tasks that still remain.
The little bridge at Concord,
where Freedom's Fight began,
of Gettysburg and Midway
and the story of Bataan.

The house I live in,
my neighbors White and Black,
the people who just came here
or from generations back,
the town hall and the soapbox,
the torch of Liberty,
a home for all God's children,
that's America to me.

The house I live in,
the goodness everywhere,
a land of wealth and beauty
with enough for all to share.
A house that we call "Freedom",
the home of Liberty,
but especially the people,
that's America to me.

But especially the people--that's
the true America.
 

Intelligent and Humorous! - by TPO

Samples of Gun Discourse in America

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I - From: Comment section of Washington Post*

daskinner at 11:34 PM CST:-

Guns are like brains. Better to have and not need, than need and not have.

Reply ...

Maximus Powerus at 11:36 PM CST:-

Sadly, daskinner, you seem to be in the former category on guns and the latter category on brains.  

You should really do a little research on your "legitimate rights." I suggest starting with D.C. v. Heller, but don't get all hot and bothered when Scalia says gun ownership is a right and go dancing in the streets; keep reading to the part where he talks about how it's not an unlimited right.

________________________

II - From: Slate readers**

Unforgiven:

Drowning is a leading cause of death among US youths. In 2002, 1158 youths younger than 20 years died as a result of an unintentional non–boat-related drowning. Additionally, more than 300 youths aged 20 to 24 years drowned that year. Children aged 1 to 4 years and males aged 15 to 24 years have the highest risk for drowning. - American Journal of Public Health.

Water - The silent killer!

Reply ...

Randy4797:

That's why I drink my Crown straight up.

Reply ...

Stellla IV:

Also, it rusts pipes. 

(Thank you, WCF)

Reply ...

Tradecraft:

And an icicle (water frozen into a dangerous shape) can kill. Once the icicle has performed its deadly mission, it melts and becomes untraceable.

Surma Vabariiklased:

I haven't heard of any gang-related drive-by drownings, or people backing a tanker up to a class room window to inflict some mass drowning.
  

But should such things occur... I suspect normal/sane people would at least be open to discussing how we could prevent such things in the future.

Stellla IV:

A sad lack of adjectives there. You can do better.

Reply ...

Hernando Martinez:

Maybe throw a "psychotic stupids" in there?

Tradecraft:

So you're OK with waterboarding? Are you a pro-torture lunatic?

Reply ...

Surma Vabariiklased:

I prefer wakeboarding.

Reply ...

Hernando Martinez:

Psychotic stupid wakeboarding?

Hila:

Drowning? When was the last time you heard of anyone killing themselves by drowning? It happens and we do require more responsibility on the part of pool owners than we require of gun owners: locked fences and insurance.

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* Source:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/kathleen-parker-gun-control-proposals-hardly-

draconian/2013/01/11

** source:

slate.com (1/28/13)