WHAT IS PATRIOTISM?

Tom Joad is a fictional character from John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath. He embodies the politicization of the common man when faced with injustice.

Tom Joad, the protagonist, is recently released from prison (having been imprisoned for manslaughter) and, breaking parole, journeys from Oklahoma to California with his family in search of a better life following the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl. The family's hopes for a better life are slowly crushed by the harsh journey they must undertake and the exploitation, corruption and oppression that the 'Okies' face in California, which affects Tom Joad in particular, since it goes directly against his personality for him to let someone treat him (or others) so terribly and not do anything about it. He is unable to control his violent side any longer when he witnesses his good friend, the former preacher Casy, brutally murdered just for demanding wages possible to live on, and kills Casy's murderer, a policeman. Tom must then become a fugitive, but promises as he leaves that no matter where he runs, he will carry on Casy's legacy, being a tireless advocate for the common man against the powerful.

Original Lyrics written by Bruce Springsteen:

The Ghost of Tom Joad/Rage Against the Machine

Men walkin' 'long the railroad tracks
Goin' someplace there's no goin' back
Highway patrol choppers comin' up over the ridge
Hot soup on a campfire under the bridge
Shelter line stretchin' round the corner
Welcome to the new world order
Families sleepin' in their cars in the southwest
No home no job no peace no rest

The highway is alive tonight
But nobody's kiddin' nobody about where it goes
I'm sittin' down here in the campfire light
Searchin' for the ghost of Tom Joad

He pulls prayer book out of his sleeping bag
Preacher lights up a butt and takes a drag
Waitin' for when the last shall be first and the first shall be last
In a cardboard box 'neath the underpass
Got a one-way ticket to the promised land
You got a hole in your belly and gun in your hand
Sleeping on a pillow of solid rock
Bathin' in the city aqueduct

The highway is alive tonight
But where it's headed everybody knows
I'm sittin' down here in the campfire light
Waitin' on the ghost of Tom Joad

Now Tom said "Mom, wherever there's a cop beatin' a guy
Wherever a hungry newborn baby cries
Where there's a fight 'gainst the blood and hatred in the air
Look for me Mom I'll be there
Wherever there's somebody fightin' for a place to stand
Or decent job or a helpin' hand
Wherever somebody's strugglin' to be free
Look in their eyes Mom you'll see me."

The highway is alive tonight
But nobody's kiddin' nobody about where it goes
I'm sittin' downhere in the campfire light
With the ghost of old Tom Joad

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• patriot
• patriotism
• love
• peace
• honor
• ethics
• morals
• humanity

[LouieArrighi]

Nationalism is retarded. great video cheri

we are all one race, the human race.

btw, loved the Grapes of Wrath.

[fckuvrymch]

thanks wm.

good to see you.

[McOath]

well done

[fckuvrymch]

thank you man. :)

[scubapro12z]

America is no longer home of the brave, and soon it will no longer be the last free nation. In fact, it is already headed down the path of losing it's most sacred value, freedom.

[ymp5000]

@verdemanthe1There is no such thing as luck.

[verdemanthe1]

@ymp5000 yeah I bet,good luck motherfucker

[ymp5000]

@verdemanthe1 You have told me everything I need to know about you.

[ymp5000]

@verdemanthe1 “when I wrote that I was really hungry,Im getting ready for them to come take my house,when I find myself in the outdoors and I build myself a farm and live off the land with my newfound brothers and sisters,ill bee sure to capitolize AMERICA!” “carve out a cruel existence” “but now im not needed for the machine” “some fuckers at a bank gonna put us all into the streets”

[verdemanthe1]

@ymp5000 you stuck up bitch you kow nothing of me or my business,I dont feel sorry ever,quit projecting your shit onto me,you came crying to me wah wah,im 39,wah wah I took a big pay cut last year and cant afford my mcmansion,get the fuck out of here!I built your house,and thousands just like it,and could never think about owning one,$15 an hour is manager wages!your probably one of those full of shit delegators parasites on the back of the working man,ive no more time for the likes of you!

[ymp5000]

@verdemanthe1 You are working 5 jobs and you cant average $15 pr/hr? Sounds like there may be something wrong with you. How fucking easy do you think it is to provide for a family of 4 on $15? Now quit feeling sorry for yourself. BTW you sent yourself a message.

[verdemanthe1]

@ymp5000 and youre still making $15 an hour go fuck yourself! youre not facing eviction your facing a downgrade,i and my whole family and many of my friends are all facing homelessness,I have 5 jobs right now!youre fucking living on an island!

[verdemanthe1]

@verdemanthe1 lets go plant a bunch of trees man

[verdemanthe1]

@ymp5000 my industry stopped in 2007,if you were making that much last year and are facing eviction this year I dont weep for you one bit.youre in my world now grandma :)