bttbjournal

Day · Last edited by Day on Thu Nov 01, 2007 4:34 pm; edited 2 times in total

John Trudell: In His Words
by John Trudell

Look at Us - from Tribal Voice

We see your tech no logical society devour you before your very eyes we hear your anguished cries exalting greed through progress while you seek material advances the sound of flowers dying carry messages through the wind trying to tell you about balance and your safety But your minds are chained to your machines and the strings dangling from your puppeteers hands turning you, twisting you into forms and confusions beyond your control Your mind for a job your mind for a t.v. your mind for a hair dryer your mind for consumption with your atom bombs your material bombs your drug bombs your racial bombs your class bombs your sexist bombs your ageist bombs Devastating your natural shelters making you homeless on earth chasing you into illusions fooling you, making you pretend you can run away from the ravishing of your spirit While the sound of flowers dying carry messages through the wind trying to tell you about balance and your safety.

Trying to isolate us in a dimension called loneliness leading us into the trap believe in their power but not in ourselves piling us with guilt always taking the blame greed chasing out the balance trying to isolate us in a dimension called loneliness economic deities seizing power through illusions created armies are justified class systems are democracy god listens to warmongers prayers tyranny is here divide and conquer v trying to isolate us in a dimension called loneliness greed a parent insecurity the happiness companion genocide conceived in sophistication tech no logic material civilization a rationalization replacing a way to live trying to isolate us in a dimension called loneliness

Look at us, we are of Earth and Water Look at them, it is the same Look at us, we are suffering all these years Look at them, they are connected. Look at us, we are in pain Look at them, surprised at our anger Look at us, we are struggling to survive Look at them, expecting sorrow be benign Look at us, we were the ones called pagan Look at them, on their arrival Look at us, we are called subversive Look at them, descending from name callers Look at us, we wept sadly in the long dark Look at them, hiding in tech no logic light Look at us, we buried the generations Look at them, inventing the body count Look at us, we are older than America Look at them, chasing a fountain of youth Look at us, we are embracing Earth Look at them, clutching today Look at us, we are living in the generations Look at them, existing in jobs and debts Look at us, we have escaped many times Look at them, they cannot remember Look at us, we are healing Look at them, their medicine is patented Look at us, we are trying Look at them, what are they doing Look at us, we are children of Earth Look at them, who are they?

Uncle Sam · Joined: 04 Apr 2007 Posts: 28

When are you people going to stop bashing whites and see that everyone is responsible for what's going on today? All of you people are always looking for ways to blame the white man for everything under the sun. Why don't you thank us for all the good things we've done for you?

prettydancer · Joined: 17 Oct 2007 Posts: 29 Location: new york

We should all pick a line from the poem that stood out when we read it. mine is " trying to isolate us in a dimension called loneliness". It reminded me of the Matrix for some reason. I never thought of loneliness as a dimension but it does make sense to think of it like that. People could be right here with us physically but if in their mind they feel all alone and helpless then its as if its a completely different dimension. I think Native American culture and the way we focus on the circle and being in the circle is protection against that.