On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month...

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we take a lot of things for granted... that's demonstrated just by the very fact that i can get on this forum and rant and rave about what i want and when i want without (or at least very little) fear of reprisal... for all that's been said about the "evils" of Western Civilization (esp. in recent years, ad nauseam, etc...), we can't forget that we have what we have because this world and our reality has been shaped in this context... there's still a lot of work to do... but lest we forget, there are millions of men and women who have sacrificed so we can enjoy the freedoms that we enjoy (and yes, "freedom" in all its qualifications, entendres, contradictions, and inconsistencies, but it *is* freedom nonetheless)... the question is, have we learned from our past, or are we doomed to repeat history's mistakes?


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"Imagine" -- John Lennon


Imagine there's no Heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace

You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world

You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one


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"In Flander's Fields" -- John McCrae

In Flander's fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flander's fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flander's fields.


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"Heal the World" -- Michael Jackson

We could fly so high
Let our spirits never die
In my heart I feel
You are all my brothers
Create a world with no fear
Together we'll cry happy tears
See the nations turn
Their swords into plowshares
We could really get there
If you cared enough for the living
Make a little space to make a better place.


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