Over the Xmas holidays I did something I'd never done before - created a music/video and uploaded it to YouTube. The video was my way of speaking out against the war, and of letting people know about the Peace March on Washington, Jan 27.
Thanks to the tremendous support of the dKos community, the video did very well at YouTube - scoring in the top 20 videos during the week btwn Xmas and New Year, and over 6000 viewers.
Now - I want your input and ideas for DEVELOPING another video - also to help promote the March on Washington. The theme will be "The America I believe in..."
Meet me on the flip for details on how you can help
First, I want to acknowlege Amnesty International for the theme. This video idea is an expansion of their campaign called The America we believe in.... If you haven't joined that powerful campaign in support of human rights, I urge you to use the above link to do so now.
Their campaign focuses on the prison/torture aspects of the illegal war in Iraq. They have a variety of statements such as
- The America I believe in doesn't torture people
- The America I believe in doesn't hold people without charge, without fair trials, without hope, and without end. . .
- The America I believe in doesn't justify the use of secret prisons. . .
- The America I believe in doesn't not rob people of their basic dignity.
And finally,
- The America I believe in is a world leader in human rights.
Each of their statements has a corresponding picture - Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, the Statue of Liberty, etc. It's very powerful.
OK - so here's what I want to do for my next video. I want to expand their idea in 2 ways. First, I want to include additional aspects of the horrors and betrayals this war and this administration has wrought - not just prison/torture but other things as well. So, for example - "The America I believe in doesn't tell lies to start a war"
I also want to expand it to include not just the negative stuff, but affirmative statements about the America we cherish. For example: "The America I belive in knows free speech is the basis of democracy"
Please add your ideas below on how you would complete the statement "The America I believe in....."
Keep the statements short and simple so that I can fit them onto slides for the video.
Bonus if you provide a link to a corresponding image that matches your statement :)
I'll incorporate the highest rated suggestions into the video.
The video will be set to an amazing rendition of "America the Beautiful" from Neil Young's Living with War album, and will end with a call to action urging people to come to Washington to take back the country we believe in.
Thanks for your help w/this, Kossacks - have fun!