John's Dura Mater Blog

I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. - Elie Wiesel in his Nobel Acceptance Speech, delivered in Oslo on December, 10, 1986

These are the days of the open hand   They might just be the last   Look around now   These are the days of the beggars and the choosers   This is the year of the hungry man   Whose place is in the past   Hand in hand with ignorance   And legitimate excuses   The rich declare themselves poor   And most of us are not sure   If we have too much   But we'll take our chances   'Cause God's stopped keeping score   I guess somewhere along the way   He must have let us all out to play   Turned his back and all God's children   Crept out the back door   And it's hard to love, there's so much to hate   Hanging on to hope   When there is no hope to speak of   And the wounded skies above say it's much too much too late   Well maybe we should all be praying for time   These are the days of the empty hand   Oh, you hold on to what you can   And charity is a coat you wear twice a year   This is the year of the guilty man   Your television takes a stand   And you find tha

"We’re coming to a tipping point… there’s going to be a huge conversation. Is government an instrument of good, or is it every man for himself?  Is there something bigger we want to reach for or is self-interest our basic resting pulse?”  - Executive Producer Mackenzie McHale (Emily Morimer) on "Newsroom," an HBO Series created by Aaron Sorkin, Episode 1, June 2012 Newroom on HBO