WEBVTT

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I'll read one more.

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I'll read the title poem.

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It's called "Look."

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And the title is a term
from the Department

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of Defense's
dictionary that the DOD

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has defined to mean,
"In mine warfare,

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a period during which
a mine circuit is

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receptive of an influence."

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"Look."

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It matters what
you call a thing.

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"Exquisite," a lover
called me, "Exquisite."

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Whereas, "Well, if I
were from your culture

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living in this country,"
said the man outside the 2004

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Republican National
Convention, "I

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would put up with that
for this country."

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Whereas I felt the need to
clarify, "You would put up

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with torture, you mean?"

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And he proclaimed, "Yes."

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Whereas, what is your life?

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Whereas years after they
looked down from their jets

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and declare my mother's Abadan
block probably destroyed,

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we walked by the villas, the
faces of buildings torn off

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into dioramas, and recorded
it on a handheld camcorder.

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Whereas it could take as long as
16 seconds between the trigger

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pulled in Las Vegas and the
Hellfire missile landing

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in Mazar-e-Sharif,
after which they

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will ask, "Did we hit a child?

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No, a dog," they will
answer themselves.

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Whereas the federal judge at
the sentencing hearing said,

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"I want to make sure I
pronounce the defendant's

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name correctly."

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Whereas this lover would
pronounce my name and call

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me exquisite, and lay the
floor lamp across the floor,

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softening even the light.

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Whereas the lover
made my heat rise,

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rise so that if heat
sensors were trained on me,

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they could read my thermal
shadow through the roof

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and through the wardrobe.

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Whereas it's not like
walking to the grocery store

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and seeing a dead body here.

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It's not like that.

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It's a rock, you know?

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It's a rock.

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It's kind of like acceptable
to see that there.

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And not, it was kind of like
seeing a dead dog or a dead cat

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lying.

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Whereas I thought if you would
look at my exquisite face

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or my father's, he
would reconsider.

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Whereas you mean I
should be disappeared

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because of my family name.

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And he answered, "Yes,
that's exactly what I mean,"

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adding that his wife helped
draft the Patriot Act.

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Whereas the federal
judge wanted to be

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sure he was pronouncing the
defendant's name correctly,

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and said he had read
all the exhibits, which

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included the letter I wrote to
cast the defendant in a loving

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light.

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Whereas today we celebrate
things like his transfer

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to a detention center
closer to home.

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Whereas his son has
moved across the country.

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Whereas I made nothing happen.

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Whereas ye know not what
shall be on the morrow.

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For what is your life?

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It is even a thermal shadow.

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It appears so little, and
then vanishes from the screen.

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Whereas I cannot
control my own heat.

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And it can take as
long as 16 seconds

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between the trigger, the
Hellfire missile, and a dog,

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they will answer themselves.

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Whereas, "A dog," they will say.

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Now, therefore let it
matter what we call a thing.

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Let it be the exquisite face
for at least 16 seconds.

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Let me look at you.

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Let me look at you in a light
that takes years to get here.

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Thank you very much.

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[APPLAUSE]

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