Saturday, September 25, 2010

Viva Zapata!

This land is yours.
But you must protect it.

It won't be yours long
if you don't protect it.

If necessary, with your lives,
and your children with their lives.

Don't discount your enemies.
They will be back.

And if your house is burned,
build it again.

If your corn is destroyed, replant.
If your children die, bear more.

If they drive you out of the valley,
live on the mountain, but live.

You always look for leaders,
strong men without faults.

There aren't any.
There are only men like yourselves.

They change. They desert. They die.

There are no leaders but yourselves.

A strong people
is the only lasting strength.

John Steinback "Viva Zapata!" (1952)

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