Pat Benatar at “Hands Across America”
Since the last election, our country seems to be split, our citizens at odds with one another. Blue States vs. Red States. Blacks vs. Whites. Liberals vs. Conservatives.
Have we forgotten that we are one country: The United States of America, from sea to shining sea? Was it only twenty years ago that we all stood hand-in-hand, brother and brother, across this great land for a honorable cause?
“On the afternoon of Sunday, May 25, 1986, more than five million people joined hands to form a line that stretched 4,152 miles – from New York City’s Battery Park to a pier in Long Beach, California. This nationwide event, called Hands Across America, was intended to raise money to fight hunger and homelessness.”
Brooke Shields stood as anchor at the George Washington Bridge in New York. Ronald Reagan held hands at the White House. Bill Clinton was in Arkansas. Millions were raised. An awful song was written. For fifteen minutes, we were all one people.
But there is a dirty little secret about this event, something that has been festering for twenty years:
The “unbroken chain” never really worked.
“There were many breaks in the chain. In order to allow the maximum number of people to participate, the path linked major cities and meandered back and forth within the cities.”
In some places, like in the Arizona desert, there were long stretches of emptiness.
For many of us, this failure has haunted us for two decades. Some say this was a new generation’s Vietnam — a societal disappointment that has prevented many of us from becoming self-actualized individuals.
But can we fix the mistakes of the past? Can our country become whole again? Can WE become whole again?
I say YES. In the last twenty years, modern technology has brought us high speed internet and blogging. We can finish the job left undone.
The following is the original route used in Hands Across America for connecting the two coasts:
To reproduce and finally complete this historic event twenty years later, we will need AT LEAST one blogger in the following states to be a part of an unbroken blogger chain across America:
WE DID IT!
New York (Yes!)
New Jersey (Yes!)
Pennsylvania (Yes!)
Maryland (Yes!)
Washington D.C. (Yes!)
Ohio (Yes!)
Indiana (Yes!)
Illinois (Yes!)
Missouri (Yes!)
Tennessee (Yes!)
Arkansas (Yes!)
Texas (Yes!)
New Mexico (Yes!)
Arizona (Yes!)
California (Yes!)
Can we do it? I think we can!
The theme song:
Blogs Across America.
Blogs across this land I love.
Divided we fall.
United we stand.
Blogs across America.
A Year Ago on Citizen of the Month: What is a Neilochka?
I’ll be here in Mississippi holding hands with Margaret in Alabama and Charming,but Single in Louisiana, SO THERE!
So, representing Arizona, I guess I get to hold your hand Neil in California, (don’t be jealous ladies:-b) and Lushy from New Mexico. OK, I’m ready!
3T
From Indiana.
Well howdy from Ohio! Yes, Pepper Pike – about 15 miles east of Cleveland, still plenty of lake effect snow and tears over pretty much every sports team in town. I’m from CT originally and hubby is from MA, but we met here in 89 and have been here ever since.
Want to follow the craziest ever political races this year? You won’t be disappointed – Ohio had a s**tload of political blogs, many which you can find on my sidebar. I write about the politics too.
Oh – Hands? Let’s see – I was in New Haven working at Yale’s development office helping figure out how to help wealthy people give away their money. Now more than ever I always say!
Happy Hands day, Neil – and thanks!
Geeze, Neil. I can see you never visited my profile. I’m in NE Ohio. >sob!!
Nance, you can see how I could have easily made that mistake. You are always so erudite and intellectual, that I somehow assumed you were a professor at Oxford. It never occurred to me that you lived in the great Buckeye State.
I’ve got Joisey!!
I’m with Kristen representing the Jerz.
New Jersey! I have New Jersey! I can’t believe it’s still available at this late date! I grew up believing that the primary purpose of NJ was to keep the water off Pennsylvania but here I am representing NJ! How exciting.
My state wasn’t included. I guess I get to remain my antisocial self.
Northwest Indiana representin’ yo. (oh, wait. I see Neil already got me in. Thas cool.)
I’ll be the Texas substitute!!!
Ya know incase he/she can’t … blah, blah, duties, etc.
SMooch,
The Tart
; )
Great concept. Just wish we had something in Kentucky.
goodness, I see Dudley Moore in there. Yikes, I was 13 years old. Was this the same year as “We are the World”? I sang it wtih friends at the school talent show at one point. Dork I was.
Yeah. Ummm. So Minnesota doesn’t even count, huh?
Thanks, Neil. Thanks a lot.
Here I am! NJ is in the hoouuuse!:)
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Well, I remember Hands Across America and they said then that there were breaks in the chain. I know I wasn’t going to sign up to stand in the hot desert
Since I’m abroad, I can’t help you in your Blogs Across America project.
“I’m touching my monitor” sounds dirty.
Hey Wordgirl–My monitor IS dirty. Maybe I should give it a hand job–with a dust cloth, y’know.
Neil, I am deeply hurt that you did not even MENTION Delaware–the First State! Deeply, deeply hurt. Now I am going to cry myself to sleep.
No country in the world could be so united, so monolithic. It’s just normal and there are times and situations when the cracks in the nation become visible. Anyway, I don’t imagine there are so many in the great nation of the United States. Just think of Yugoslavia. They speak all across the former Yugoslavia the same or very similar language and still they are so split, so divided. So don’t despair!