A Beautiful Word

Freedom
The right to choose as we may
Everyday we awake and
We can make a choice
Raise our voice
Enjoy being viceroy
Of our destiny
The right to be free to
Make our own decisions
May they be popular
Or toil in derision
And with that power, with that strength
Virulence and endurance for the Higher
In the 21st Century we are given a choice
Do we punish a person for having been born
Born in a homewhere the choice to be poor is not a choice at all

To be undocumented in the United States
Means being a farm worker, a hard worker, a busser, a tailor, a server, a waiter
a newsreporter, a businessowner,
a mother, a father, a son, and a daughter
Being undocumented in the United States simply means to be conceived
in another country
We have free will everyday
But the event
That most affects our daily life's I
Was not even alive 
to say I object!

Freedom is a beautiful word
But vocabulary won't end the struggle  nuestra gente is in
Fighting, surviving, trying to make it to the next day
Where was freedom when I was born?
Why was I not given the same opportunity 300 millions others received?
Deceived was I, to think we are free...
The act that most affects me I was a prisoner,
Yet to spring to life,
Feel on my skin the sunshine
Instead now I carry the plight of my people
Tattoed on my spirit

Do you dig it?
Do you understand where I'm coming from?
Do you feel me?

Punish a man for his crime
That is a simple rule to abide by
Now let's be real
Let's get real
To be undocumented in the United States
Without the proper paperwork to pass,
Is as much of a crime as this skin tone of mine
Did I choose to be born?
Did I choose to be born here?
There is no Justice here?
There is no Justice there?
And there is no Justice anywhere?

I was born free
Born to a bronze nation
History tells us of a proud people with twin ancestors
And great empires
Combining to form una gente
I stand before you a son: firme y presente
I am proud to call myself:
Chicano!
Mejicano!
Americano!

I am the land my people work
I am this land on which I stand
I am the land to which I was born for
Some rich and some poor
But all wealthy in culture and pride
And no one will deny
My people, our people

Free will died before I was born
I resurrected Freedom at my birth
And in one confident, powerful step
Took the first of many towards justice

Freedom is a beautiful word
Let the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr be the shining light
The torch on the scorched path of freedom
Let the life of Cesar Chavez be an example to our people
That we have suffered, are the suffering, and will continue to suffer
Let the love of our mothers and fathers move us towards peace
Let us realize we are human beings
No different than our brothers and sisters
Freedom is a beautiful word
Let us then make freedom ... a beautiful act

by Jesus "Chuy" Guzman

mythoughts

I am a reasonably reasonable man. I live the life I preach and preach the life I strive to live someday. We are not perfect, but there is something noble in, at least, striving to achieve what we surely know is out of our reach. To keep pushing, to continue climbing the mountain, not celebrating at the bluffs, but scaling until we've passed the zenith, and finished at the foot, where it all began. Life is ordered disorder, and this is my attempt to decipher some of this crazy mess we call our world. Bear with me, for I make mistakes, but I try. I try, as we all do. A pursuit for honest truth is the least I can do. Whether we can get there is a whole separate question. All we can do is try to climb that mountain. Why? Because we have no other choice. We must climb. We must. I write this my rooted thought for those very reasons. Why? Because we must.

Proposition 8. The Ethics of a Controversial Issue

For so many, their minds have been made up and their vote soon enough cast either by mail or at the poll.  Proposition 8, which will define marriage between a man and a woman in the State of California, will be voted on this coming November 4th.  There is little time to change the minds of others, and even with enough time, this is not, and has not, been an issue which folks are inclined to shift positions.  Money has been spent, words exchanged, sentiments verbalized, thoughts penned, lawn signs stolen, homes tagged with graffiti, and among all of this ruckus, all of the hate spewed, love lost, few have stopped for a moment to speak about what the real issue is behind gay marriage.  We have debated about the leaves and the branches but have forgotten to speak about the root of the problem.  This issue is controversial not because of gay "marriage", but because of homosexuality, in its entirety.  The question that is underlying all of this debate is whether we believe homosexuality is a choice, or whether folks are born, as such.  All arguments, all points of view, all understanding about Proposition 8 is sprung forth from the answer we give to the question of the origins of homosexuality.  If someone views homosexuality as a choice, they are more than likely to incur Yes on Prop. 8.  Those who believe people are born gay are then more inclined to vote No on Prop. 8.  Yet, the forums I have attended, the debates I have heard, the arguments I have listened to, the opponents and proponents I have seen all seem to want to avoid asking, much less answering, this very question.  My own beliefs aside on this issue, what I do believe is fundamentally understanding the situation at hand to the best of our abilities, and when I stop and witness the circumstances we are to deal with in view of Prop. 8 we are doing a disservice to our democracy, and our future, when we pretend to ignore the most important question that need be answered in regards to one a historical initiative soon to be voted on. 

How can we make a decision without fully understanding the issue in front of us?  How can we decide without all, or if not most, of the facts?  How can we vote on Prop. 8 without, at least, speaking on the issue which will, when answered, be the deciding factor in which way one votes on Proposition 8?  We are responsible for the outcome of this election.  When our children in the days and years to come look at us and ask us what our reasons for voting the way we voted on Prop. 8, we best give 'em one hell of a reason, and it best not be leaves, but the root we choose to speak to, from which springs logic as sound and sturdy as the girth of the bark it gives birth to.