Bob Dylan, Toni Morrison Among 13 Tapped for Presidential Medal of Freedom

Oh the time will come up
When the winds will stop
And the breeze will cease to be breathin'
Like the stillness in the wind
'Fore the hurricane begins
The hours when the ship comes ind.

And the seas will split
And the ship will hit
And the sands on the shoreline will be shaking
Then the tide will sound
And the wind will pound
And the morning will be breaking.

Oh the fishes will laugh
As they swim out of the path
And the seagulls they'll be smiling
And the rocks on the sand
Will proudly stand
The hour that the ship comes in.

And the words that are used
For to get the ship confused
Will not be understood as they're spoken
For the chains of the sea
Will have busted in the night
And will be buried at the bottom of the ocean.

A song will lift
As the mainsail shifts
And the boat drifts on to the shoreline
And the sun will respect
Every face on the deck
The hour that the ship comes in.

Then the sands will roll
Out a carpet of gold
For your weary toes to be a-touchin'
And the ship's wise men
Will remind you once again
That the whole wide world is watchin'.

Oh the foes will rise
With the sleep in their eyes
And they'll jerk from their beds and think they're dreamin'
But they'll pinch themselves and squeal
And know that it's for real
The hour that the ship comes in.

Then they'll raise their hands
Sayin' we'll meet all your demands
But we'll shout from the bow your days are numbered
And like Pharaoh's tribe
They'll be drownded in the tide
And like Goliath, they'll be conquered.

I measure ever politician's utterance against

"Then they'll raise their hands
Sayin' we'll meet all your demands"

Honor those who challenge, as he did.

The list includes:

* Bob Dylan
* Tony Morrison
* Madeleine Albright
* Shimon Peres
* John Paul Stevens
* John Glenn
* Gordon Hirabayashi
* Dolores Heurta, civil rights activist for Mexican migrant workers
* John Doar, civil rights attorney who prosecuted the Watergate scandal
* William Foege, a physician and epidemiologist who helped eradicate smallpox
* Jan Karski, leader in the Polish Underground in WWII (died in 2000)
* Pat Summitt, all-time winningest college basketball coach (not just coach of women's teams -- of all teams!)
and my favorite,
* Juliette Gordon Low, founder of the iconic Girl Scouts group, which in its century-long existence has grown into the largest educational organization for girls and has had over 50 million members. She died in 1927.

I just finished rereading The Bluest Eye. Even her early work is so brilliant. She has done so much to educate the world about civil and human rights, culture and history.

The GSA is a non-bigoted organization, and one that has adhered to Low's principles of teaching girls independence and self esteem.

I heard her speak a few years ago at an event for Southern Poverty Law Center, when they were releasing their film on César Chávez. She is remarkable and so elegant. It was a tremendously moving evening.

When are the awards? I always love to watch these live every year; I always cry.