There's no doubt we are living in challenging times. Doom and gloom pervade the media and politicians drum up fear to justify destructive policies of war and repression. When I wrote the song "democratic sunlight" I felt the need to address what is going on in a lighthearted way and focus on an upbeat message of love and kindness. When I started singing it to audiences, the response from people was so positive I was encouraged to make a video. Whenever I would sing the song, the mood would change from one of gloom to one of hope and happiness. The song and the video address the very real and difficult issues we are faced with, but it does so in a spirit of optimism and fun.

I wanted a powerful theme to visually reflect the chorus of "democratic sunlight". My friend, Lisa Law, the legendary chronicler of the sixties, offered me her footage and photographs of peace demonstrations (including the peace flag photo above). When I viewed the footage and the pictures I knew I had my theme. As Lisa walks through the marching multitude, her camera captures the power of the diversity of the people commited to peace and a just society. Young and old, black, brown, yellow and white, multi-class, creative, humble, passionate, joyful, it's all there, the light of humanity shining through to remind us of our power and our true nature. Starting with the famous shot of the truck in an anti-Vietnam War march, piled with protesters, symbolizing the birth of a peace movement that took the world by storm, the song and the rest of the visuals show that that spirit is still very much alive and taking a new form. Combined with an environmental awareness and the realization that our centralized energy systems and economies are destroying our planet and our societies, and with the consciousness that all religions are just different manifestations of the same desire to serve something greater than our individual selves, the message is clear. We must figure out how to create locally self-sustaining communites, taking the power back from the corporate stranglehold, and we must be kind and love each other.

I believe we are giving birth to a new consciousness on this planet, but giving birth can be painful. In order to transition to a new paradigm and a new way of living and relating to each other and to the earth, we need to create new social, political and economic models. Some new ways that are being experimented with are really ancient ways of cooperation, sharing and wisdom. Please visit my new website-in-progress www.democraticsunlight.com where I am starting to explore some alternatives for living and doing business. Meet some folks who are pioneering these forms, learn more, get inspired and get involved. It's a time for doing. We are creating the new world. Let's have fun doing it!

AMERICA (SPANISH VERSION OF AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL)

With the acknowledgement that all of us, from North America, South America and Central America, are all "Americans" perhaps we can work towards a more unified vision of the Americas, one of justice for all and a common mission to protect our precious environment that we share.

For this purpose Roberto Mondragón and myself in 1991 wrote new lyrics for the well-known song "America the Beautiful", not to dismiss the original lyrics, but to build on them, towards a higher vision of our shared humanity and common purpose.

Joining us is Daniel Gurule's 1992 6th grade class at Kaune Elementary School, Santa Fe, NM. This project was made possible by a grant from the New Mexico Quincentenary Commission, and through the support of the Self Reliance Foundation, the Hispanic Radio Network and Aspectos Culturales, Inc.

(The original words to "America the Beautiful" were written by Katherine Lee Bates in 1893 on Pike's Peak, Colorado)

AMERICA
New lyrics by Consuelo Luz and Roberto Mondragón
Music by Samuel Ward

Spanish Version:   RealAudio   MP3

Lyrics:

América, América, tierra de libertad
Luchar por la justicia es nuestra responsabilidad
América América, Dios te lleve a la paz
Y que no nos olvidemos de la verdadera hermandad

Montańas majestuosas, la selva y el frutal
Base de tu grandeza, naturaleza sin igual
América, América, tu cuerpo hay que respetar
Violado y contaminado no habrá prosperidad

Hermosa es América bajo este cielo azul
Desde esta Norte a la Central y América del Sur
América América nunca hay que olvidar
Nuestros hermanos hacia el sur también son América

América, América, tierra de libertad
Belleza esplendorosa, paises de oportunidad
América, América Dios nos l'ayude a cuidar
Y que no nos olvidemos del resto de la humanidad

América, en nuestras manos tu destino está
Nuevamente te creamos en corazón y comunidad

Bilingual Version:   RealAudio   MP3

Lyrics:

America, America, our land of liberty
To fight for equal justice is our responsibility
America, America, God grant you lasting peace
And help us to remember our true humanity

Your purple mountain majesties, your jungles and your plains
The basis of your greatness, your bounty and your fame
America, respect and care must take the place of greed
If we rape you and contaminate you there'll be no prosperity

Oh beautiful America, beneath this sky of blue
From Mexico, to Canada from Cuba to Peru
America, America, we should remember well
Our brothers to the south are Americans as well
Tambien son America, tambien son
(They are also America, they also are…)

America, America, tierra de libertad
(Ammerica , Am,erica, lkand of liberty)
Belleza esplendorosa, paises de oportunidad
(Splendorous beauty, countries of opportunity)
America, America, Dios nos l'ayude a cuidar
(America, America, God help us to take care of you)
Y que no nos olvidemos del resto de la humanidad
(And let us not forget the rest of humanity)

America, in our hands we hold your destiny
Let us recreate America in love and community

Hear "How Much Can Our Hearts Take", a peace song

Though I have always considered myself socially and politically aware and have been involved in much community and cultural work throughout my life, 9/11 was a wake up call for me. My consciousness was lifted to a new level and I could not rest until I was satisfied that I had thoroughly investigated what was really going on in the world. After months of reading, researching and exploring the Internet, a veil seemed to lift from my brain as I started understanding the true meaning of the events we were witnessing: the virtual coup d'etat by George W. Bush and his cabinet of oil executives, The Free Trade agreements, NAFTA, the Patriot Act, the consolidation of the media which was becoming the most powerful propaganda machine in the history of the planet, the scapegoating of Muslims, the depletion of resources, all these under the umbrella of the growing runaway beast: Corporate globalization and its unsupervised, unfettered branches of administrative power - the multinationals, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and a slew of other quasi secret "groups" and "commissions" who seemed to be deciding the fate of humanity behind closed doors with no seeming accountability.

I started contacting people in my community who were apparently doing the same thing as I was. As we shared information a sense of urgency developed and the need to share what we were discovering with as many people as possible. With my friend and fellow musician, Nelson Denman, we created Freedom Café, a series of events which brought together poets, musicians and speakers on the urgent issues of the day. Volunteers manned tables where we made available petitions, brochures, info on organizations and activities and lists of websites and contacts to expand the surging network of concerned individuals. As more and more people became active, a grass roots self-organized movement emerged in Santa Fe.

This new imperialism threatening to gobble up the planet and reduce humans to consumers or slaves seems to have a life of its own. Who is accountable? As governments become irrelevant it becomes up to the people to take responsibility for our Earth. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We move into this new consciousness with love, grace and joy.