Barbara Lee
Barbara Lee
Let us think through the implications of our actions today
Hi all,
Thank you for joining me for this week’s song, “Barbara Lee”, by David Rovics. If you’d like to hear the song before you read the background, I’ve included a YouTube video below the article.
Below, you’ll find my interpretation of the lyrics (written in italics). Comments and questions are welcome. For Japanese students, vocabulary words in bold are provided in Japanese below. TOEFL (PBT) 450+, Eiken 2, CEFR B1.
(722 words)
There are many forms of courage. For example, firewomen and men run into a blazing building to save lives, support services crawl through collapsed buildings after an earthquake to find survivors, nurses and doctors risk their lives to help the injured in a war zone.
There is also a gentle form of courage, the courage to stand up and say “No”.
The Song
Today’s song is about a woman in the U.S. Congress. Her name is Barbara Lee. She is a representative of northern California.
The song tells about her origins: She grew up in Texas on a military base / As a teen in California she found her place / Standing up with those who had got the shorter straw / Speaking out for justice on both sides of the law
“To get the shorter straw” means that in some situations, a group of people will take several straws or sticks, one person will hold them so that no one can see the lengths, and each person will choose one of the straws. However, one straw is shorter than the others. The person who picks it has to perform some action, usually a difficult or dangerous mission. Here, it means that Barbara Lee fought for people who did not have power.
She came to my attention in 1998 / When she was elected and she joined the ship of state
“Ship of state” is a metaphor that means that governing a country is like being a captain of a ship.
But it was in her second term when she really made the news / As the sole dissenter, the only one to refuse
A dissenter is a person who disagrees with what the majority of people believe or decide.
Barbara Lee… / Let me take this chance to thank you for your humanity
A person’s humanity is about being kind, understanding, and caring towards others. It means treating everyone with respect and empathy. Showing one’s humanity involves sharing feelings, helping one another, and making the world a better place through compassion and love.
What happened in September 2001?
In September of 2001, the World Trade Center in New York was hit by two airplanes. The Pentagon, the U.S. Department of Defense building, was also hit. A plane also crashed near the town of Shanksville, Pennsylvania. It was determined that those who committed these attacks were members of an extremist group called Al-Qaeda.
The month was September, 2001 / It was time to show the world these colors don’t run
These colors don’t run might have two meanings here: first, that the colors of the American flag will never fade but will always be bold and clear, and second, that Americans don’t run - show cowardice - when attacked.
Flags of war were waving from New York to L.A. / From Shanksville to the Pentagon, they chanted “USA”
“U-S-A” was a chant that was often used in the U.S. after 9-11. It was used to unite people behind the government’s actions.
Barbara Lee… / Surrounded by such darkness, but still able to see…
What did Barbara Lee do?
The U.S. government voted to give the president broad authorization to attack Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. At that point, many people in the U.S. supported this idea.
A few days after the attacks, Lee spoke to other members of the Congress and said:
“Let’s just pause, just for a minute, and think through the implications of our actions today, so that this does not spiral out of control.”
The vote came to the Congress to give the president the right
To bomb and to invade any nation in his sights
To kill in any country where his generals want to go
500 voted yes, one woman voted no
Barbara Lee… / A few hundred more like you, what a nation it could be / There among the madmen of Washington DC
Representative Lee voted against giving the president such power. After the vote was taken, she received hate mail and death threats. However, years later, many believed that she had been right.
Songwriter David Rovics acknowledges on his website that Lee has voted to support Israel’s separation of Palestinian land, but:
… the day in 2001 when she was the sole voice of sanity in the entire Congress was a day to remember. A terrifying day that almost everyone in the Congress exposed themselves as the sheep they are. Except one woman who spoke up against militarism at this crucial historical moment — Barbara Lee.
QUESTION:
What qualities or actions do you think show someone’s humanity?
VOCABULARY
blazing 燃える
collapsed つぶれた
term (of office) 任期
sole 唯一
extremist group 過激派グループ
broad authorization 広範な認可
implication 含意
spiral out of control 制御不能のスパイラル
invade 侵入する
in (his) sights 狙いを定める
madmen 予測不可能、風変わり、または不合理な態度で行動する人
acknowledges 認める
sanity 正気
exposed 露出
(to be a) sheep 自分で考えずに他人に従う
militarism 軍国主義
crucial 重要な
SOURCES
Los Angeles Times. (2021, August 20). Road to vindication for California’s Barbara Lee, the only member of Congress to vote against Afghanistan War. Los Angeles Times. https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2021-08-20/road-to-vindication-for-barbara-lee-the-only-member-of-congress-to-vote-against-afghanistan-war Accessed 7 Jan. 2024.
The Washington Post. (2021, August 17). Rep. Barbara Lee voted against War in Afghanistan. https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2021/08/17/barbara-lee-afghanistan-vote/ Accessed 7 Jan. 2024.
Rovics, D. Barbara Lee. David Rovics: Songs of Social Significance. https://www.davidrovics.com/songbook/barbara-lee/ Accessed 7 Jan. 2024.
Learn about other people who have shown courage:
https://louisehaynes.substack.com/p/breaking-the-chains-with-a-hammer
Thanks for acknowledging and celebrating this courageous act in your post. We need to amplify voices like hers now more than ever.
When every emotion and gut response yells - stand strong, don't be weak, this is only the first domino to fall, the wise person says - "Lets step back for a minute and cool our jets." . . . "What are the unintended consequences?" In the end, who will be the winners and who will be the losers? In the final analysis, will history look back on us as the "good guys or the bad guys?"
It is always easier to just fall in line. God Bless those who don't follow their knee jerk response toward cowardice.