OK, I'm back and I'm wondering...do I choose someone tomorrow, or being a holiday, do I wait until Tuesday? Anyway...
DG - "What five people with public voices - either living or dead, as long as their message is available - do you think are worth listening to, and why?"
That is a very difficult question because every great "spokesperson" is always challenged in their personal lives and/or philosophies, so every answer end up being politically incorrect in some way or another, but there are those who inspire me not only by their words, but in their actions (or some of them, anyway).
"I had reasoned this out in my mind, there was one of two things I had a right to, liberty or death; if I could not have one, I would have the other." - Harriet Tubman, to me, is one of the truly great Americans. She devoted her life to freedom and equality at great risk in incredible acts of selflessness. Her underground railroad was the original Schindler's List. Well, maybe not the
original, but you know what I mean. WHATEVER!
Martin Luther King, Jr. picked up Tubman's torch and carried it to lead this country into a new era of Equal Rights. The gay community could learn the most from these two individuals.
Laurie Anderson. Probably an odd choice, but if you listen closely to what she has to say regarding politics and humanity, albeit sometimes abstractly, she has such an insightful grasp on the human condition. And she does so with such a wonderful sense of humor. Check out
The Ugly One With the Jewels.
As a devout non-Christian, I would say Jesus, but only if you can read what he has to say objectively. I'm not talking about the entire Bible or even all of the New Testament. Just most of the things that Jesus had to say about Humanity and how we should treat each other. This should be the essence of Christianity, but it has long since (we're talking centuries here) been abandonded by both the church and man.
I honestly can't think of a specific fifth individual at the moment. It might come to me later, but in today's society, it gets harder and harder to find a contemporary source of inspiration. At least, one that will
stay a source of inspiration. I'm not trying to be cynical, but it's true. If someone doesn't let you down, then the media tears them apart. But there is one line that I always go back to by Sondheim (and I am not one of those die-hard Sondheim freaks)....."If you never have an expectation, you can never have a disappointment."
I'm probably a big disappointment in this area, but I'm not a big follower of philosophy, simply because it is so incredibly subjective and I borrow what I see, hear, and observe from so many sources, most of which come from personal interaction. The one individual who affected my life most profoundly, and who I've mentioned before, is my father. Cheesey as it sounds, you would just have to know him and know what he has accomplished in a life that was scehduled to end over 30 years ago. He is the definition of one who is "remarkable".
Iflit - You better call me the next time you're in town. I'll PM my email, just in case. I don't want to miss you again.
"Organ donation: yea or nay?"
Absolutely yea. I signed the back of my license and got two witness signatures (required in Illinois). What the hell am I going to need them for when I'm dead? If they can't save a life, then let them be used for medical school or the Science Musem or something.
BroadwayBulldog - "What two improvements would you make to BWW.com?"
For God's sake, let us search by topic headline again. Every time I try to find a specific topic, I have to go through HUNDREDS of threads where the word or phrase I mentioned was used in the body of a message because I don't remember the name of every persno who created a thread. I hate that SO MUCH.
Second, would it hurt to PM a person to let them know why you deleted their post or their thread? It does tend to seem random and/or totally biased or unjust at times because we don't know why you do what you do. OK, you're busy. But sometimes, so are we, but a lot of stuff seems to slips through the cracks and more often for some than others. But hey, I don't run the board, so what does it matter what I think? Meh. I would love it, though, if you guys could get Ken Mandelbaum to continue his column here. See what you can do, will you? Thanks. Kisses!
"What can you expect from a bunch of seitan worshippers?" - Reginald Tresilian
Updated On: 9/3/06 at 10:21 PM
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