[xmca] For real

This evening on the public tv network in the US, a black woman who is now am
important TV anchor
interviewed the 9 people who, as high schoolers, integrated the school
system of Little Rock in a souther US state... the one that
produced one William Clinton.

An AMAZING program. Far better 50th anniversary to remember than those that
touch us directly/personally.

15-17 year olds, following THE law of THE land, attempt to go to school. A
local Governer calls out the state
national guard and blocks the door. The president of the US, a former
general who subsequently warned us all
against the military-industrial complex then threatening not only the US (he
had not figured out the role of
public universities yes, left it to us), sent in Federal (national) troops
and forced the local folks to accept the
extraordinarily odd and hard-to-defend idea that "all people are created
equal" and now these 6066+ year
olds had to reflect on what it all meant.

Whoa. What did it mean? Not nearly enough to suit my preferences. But it
meant that these then-young people
brought about a change in a direction that might be called (excuse the term,
its problematic) progress. Not enough,
not for enough people, not not not. but also not nothing.

Welcome to the first day of the rest of our lives.
mike

PS-- Perhaps available at PBS.org? (The program that is, the rest of your
lives are available at a station right inside
your own bodies and in your ..... ugh..... environment?)
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Received on Tue Jan 1 20:07 PST 2008