Putting Our Bodies Upon the Gears

This is not meant to be a very long entry due to the fact that I have a gracious plenty of homework to do this evening. But I felt it important to address something that happened in my Politics and Social Change course today.
We spent the class period watching a documentary called Berkeley in the Sixties, which documents such incidents as the Free Speech Movement, the introduction of counter culture (hippies) to the campus and the protest of the Vietnam War.
I truly enjoyed this documentary for many reasons. First, coming back from spring break, I needed something to reignite my passion for this experience. Although it has been a great few months here in Berkeley, there are moments where I am weary for the comforts of hearth and home. But, in watching the documentation of this amazing time in Berkeley's history, I was reminded me of what drew me to the campus in the first place. I loved the idea of politically motivated and active students who are dedicated to making a change in the world. Often times, "change" and "politics" are looked at with a cynical eye, which is problem a large portion of the cause for a decline in civic engagement within our nations. It's refreshing to reflect upon a time where these things were unmarred by cynicism. When students actually did believe in their ability to make a difference. 
Also, it's amazing to look back on the kind of passion with which they regarded life. It reignited a part of my passion to take in this experience for all that it is worth. I know that I am lucky. This is not something that could have been possible for everyone on earth. I know that this is not an experience that is for everyone. So, when my heart gets heavy, I need a reminder of just how big this step has been and why I wanted it.
Second, it was amazing to view the campus of Berkeley in the sixties. To look and recognize the buildings. Knowing that everyday, I pass through a place which is inhabited with the spirit of revolution. To know that I take up the same space that people such as Mario Savio took up. I am amazed, and I walk through now with a deeper appreciation for what exactly this all will mean.
So, I just wanted to spend some time reflecting upon that.
History is a very powerful thing. It has the ability to place us right in the midst of something that we may never see with our own eyes. It also has the power to inspire us for the future. To know that once, great things were in existence. Once, there were people alive so filled with passion... with drive. It connects us to a deeper appreciation and understanding of the balance of frailty and fervor that is humanity. I think that is why I was so deeply moved. For only a moment, I was not living in the year 2011, but I was existing at Berkeley during this volatile time.

So, I will leave you with the now famous/infamous words of Mario Savio:

"There’s a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious, makes you so sick at heart that you can’t take part! You can’t even passively take part! And you’ve got to put your bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels, upon the levers, upon all the apparatus — and you’ve got to make it stop! And you’ve got to indicate to the people who run it, to the people who own it — that unless you’re free the machine will be prevented from working at all!!

That doesn’t mean — I know it will be interpreted to mean, unfortunately, by the bigots who run The Examiner, for example — That doesn’t mean that you have to break anything. One thousand people sitting down some place, not letting anybody by, not [letting] anything happen, can stop any machine, including this machine! And it will stop!"