DIGNITY

     A ship in Lago di Como - Italy   (Photo by Jesús Canca)

                             

 ***

"Dignity does not consist in possessing honors,

but in deserving them".

Aristotle  (384BC-322BC)

***

Do you know the story of the man who works honestly all his life, 

saving as much money as possible, with just a dream in mind?

His dream ... ?

... To buy a small ship,

call it "Dignity" 

and sail on it!

...

These difficult days, when everybody talks/listens/reads about the ECONOMIC CRISIS, on the one hand, it is worth remembering the song "DIGNITY" by Deacon Blue and, on the other hand, reading the short article "DIGNIDAD" written by the journalist David Jiménez (in Spanish); published today on his Blog .

(Please, go and read David Jimenez's post/article. You have the link on the previous line.
In my opinion, it is simply brilliant!)

Despite the crisis,
it is crystal-clear that

everybody has dreams and ambitions in life.

So...

Why not fighting hard to fulfill them?

 *** 

 Listen to the song "Dignity", by Deacon Blue (with Spanish subtitles).

And have a look at the Lyrics (in English) -if you wish...

I hope you enjoy it !

 DIGNITY

by  Deacon Blue 

There's a man I meet, walks up our street  

He's a worker for the council, has been twenty years  

And he takes no lip off nobody and litter off the gutter  

Puts it in a bag and never thinks to mutter

 
And he packs his lunch in a sunblest bag, the children call him Bogie  

He never lets on but I know 'cause he once told me  

He let me know a secret about the money in his kitty  

He's gonna buy a dinghy, gonna call her dignity

 
And I'll sail her up the west coast, through villages and towns  

I'll be on my holidays, they'll be doing their rounds  

They'll ask me how I got her, I'll say, "I saved my money"  

They'll say, "Isn't she pretty, that ship called dignity?"

 
And I'm telling this story in a faraway scene  

Sipping down raki and reading Maynard Keynes  

And I'm thinking about home and all that means

  And a place in the winter for dignity

And I'll sail her up the west coast, through villages and towns  

I'll be on my holidays, they'll be doing their rounds 

'll ask me how I got her, I'll say, "I saved my money" 

They'll say, "Isn't she pretty, that ship called dignity?"

 
I'll set it up, set it up, set it up, set it up, set it up, set it up  

Yeah, set it up again, set it up again, set it up again, set it up again  

Set it up, set it up, set it up, set it up, set it up, set it up  

Yeah, set it up again, set it up again, set it up again, set it up again

 
And I'm thinking about home and I'm thinking about faith  

And I'm thinking about work and I'm thinking, how good it would be  

To be here some day on a ship called dignity  

A ship called dignity, that ship

READING COMPREHENSION.-

Read the Lyrics of the song and then answer the following questions:

1.- What is the dream of the man in the song?

2.- What is the name of his dream?

3.- How can he get his dream?

Just to finish...

REMEMBER 

OUR PIECE OF ADVICE

Despite the crisis, and despite difficult times,

Whatever you do, 

no matter how hard it may be, 

...don't give up the ship!

***

PS. I would like say THANK YOU to David Jimenez for his wonderful article "DIGNIDAD". His words have been the inspiration for this post.

.

WRITERS FOR CIUDAD JUAREZ

                                            “It’s only words and words are all I have”

In Ceuta, my home-town, we also celebrated the public reading called “WRITERS FOR CIUDAD JUAREZ” like in more than 130 cities in 25 countries of 4 continents on September 1st, 2012. 

 … Using simply the written word against violence and injustice.

MANIFESTO FOR CIUDAD JUÁREZ

SEPTEMBER 1ST, 2012

On January 6th, 2011, the poet Susana Chavez was murdered in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico. In her name, and in the name of all the other victims that organized crime has taken (more than 9.000 in Ciudad Juarez since 2007), we raised our voices against violence and against fear, against murderers and injustice; against those who want to bend our faith in life and our dreams of freedom and peace.

From the first edition of the Assembly (September, 2011) we fight with the only weapon we know: the written word. With it, we denounce the accomplice silence of those who support crime and at the same time we seek to recover public spaces and gather to give the world another message and another image of Ciudad Juarez that has nothing to do with murders nor drug-dealers. We will not honor our dead with indifference; it will be words and our generous actions which will build their last resting place: we will never forget them for they are a part of us.

Today, we want to raise our voice within our pain, within the heart of the desert, our faith in the strength that the written words carry, our capacity to dream and fight to become a free, fair society. Today, we want to tell the world that, in the midst of this absurd and useless war, men and women all over Mexico do not give up nor they bow their heads in resignation to the stigma of crime.

Today, we want a city in which working, studying, or having fun are not considered a high-risk endeavor; a city that does not force people to migrate, in which people can build projects and realities. We want back the future that violence attempts to take from us.

Today, on September first, we celebrate a public reading that has no comparison in the world’s cultural field. Today, more than 1200 authors from 133 cities in 25 countries of 4 continents are joining their voices together to be the voice of those who are no longer with us, amongst them Susana Chavez, whose murder has been the hardest lesson silence has taught us.

       (…)

                 
THANK YOU

                                                                                  You can read the whole text here

(Spanish Version)

MANIFIESTO POR CIUDAD JUÁREZ

1 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 2012 

El 6 de enero de 2011 asesinaron —en Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, México a la poeta Susana Chávez. En su nombre, y en nombre de todas las víctimas que ha cobrado el crimen organizado (más de nueve mil en Ciudad Juárez) en apenas seis años, alzamos nuestras voces contra la violencia y contra el miedo, contra los asesinos y la impunidad; contra quienes pretenden doblegar nuestra fe en la vida y nuestros sueños de paz y libertad. 

A partir de la primera edición del Encuentro —en septiembre de 2011— luchamos con la única arma que conocemos: la palabra. Con ella denunciamos el silencio cómplice de quienes amparan el crimen y, al mismo tiempo, buscamos recuperar los espacios públicos y la convivencia para dar al mundo otro mensaje y otra imagen de Ciudad Juárez que nada tienen que ver ni con los asesinatos ni con el narcotráfico. No honraremos a nuestros muertos con el mutis indiferente, será las palabras y nuestras acciones generosas y solidarias la morada que resguarde su memoria: no los olvidamos pues son parte de nosotros. 

Hoy queremos proclamar desde el dolor, desde el corazón de este desierto, nuestra fe en la fuerza de la palabra, nuestra capacidad para soñar y luchar por una sociedad libre y más justa. Hoy queremos decirle al mundo que, en medio de esta absurda e inútil guerra, los hombres y mujeres de todo México, los niños, los jóvenes y ancianos no se rinden ni se resignan al estigma del crimen. 

Hoy queremos una ciudad en la que trabajar, estudiar o divertirse no sean actividades de alto riesgo; una ciudad que no obligue a la migración, en donde se puedan construir proyectos y realidades, que nos devuelvan el futuro que la violencia pretende secuestrar. 

Hoy, 1 de septiembre, celebramos una lectura pública que no tiene comparación en el ámbito cultural del mundo. Hoy 1200 autores de 133 ciudades en 25 países en cuatro continentes, unen sus voces para ser la voz de quienes ya no están, entre ellos Susana Chávez, cuyo asesinato ha sido la lección más dura que nos ha dado el silencio. 

(…)

                                                               MUCHAS GRACIAS
                                                        

                                                                        Puedes leer el texto completo aquí

***

The author of "English@Edrissis", Jesús Canca, 

also participated in this event. 

You can read his text "UN MENSAJE EN EL CONTESTADOR".

***

... THE POST & SOME MUSIC ... 

Please, go back at the beginning of this post again, and have a look at the opening sentence...
“It’s only words and words are all I have”

Do you know any song with that sentence on it? …

If not, continue reading…

Because the answer is next … 

Watch the following video, listen to the song “Words”, by Bee Gees, and even (why not?) you can practice the Karaoke version of the song –if you wish. 

VIDEO "WORDS" 

Have a look at the lyrics of the previous song and answer to the question:                                             

How many times can you find the sentence… 
“It’s only words and words are all I have”?

Can you see any connection between that sentence and this post?

(Please, let us know your comments. Thank you!)

                                                     *** 

JUST TO REMEMBER THAT DAY !
One month later, my friend Mª Jesús Fuente sends  to me 2 links related to 
"WRITERS FOR CIUDAD JUAREZ"; a blog and a video.

The blog: 
http://enceuta.blogspot.com.es/

The video:
http://enceuta.blogspot.com.es/
.