When Neil Keenan was asked who Jeremiah O’Gorman is, this was his response:

He is just a friend of the boys from Pleasant View….This is where we all grew up with many of us becoming very successful. So Hurray for our boys and our dads and all the dads out there who did not take any crap. We are our fathers sons and of the same blood and desire and guess what, we don’t take anyone’s crap either. This is how we grew up and it is the Pleasant View boys and many, both men and women, like us who are making this upheaval possible.

Courageous souls who pour out their hearts in grief yet fight like Gabriel himself. Stand up or Stand down, this is how such people look at matters—and this is why others shy away. Standing down is easier for now, but if there ever is a final moment, they will find that right before losing their heads, they will wonder through their sniveling why they never stood up and fought.

Neil

Labor Day 2012

My brothers and sisters,

A glorious and grateful Labor Day to us all. Lest we forget, let us honor, remember, and thank those who have made this the greatest country in the world and in history. I do not mean Astor, Carnegie, Cooke, Drew, Duke, Fisk, Flagler, Frick, Gates, Gould, Harriman, Hill, Hinde, Hopkins, Mellon, Morgan, Osgood, Plant, Rockefeller, Schwab, Seligman, Spreckels, Vanderbilt, Yerkes, Gekko, and their sycophant wannabes. Their perfidy is matched only by their greed. May their money, evil example, and legacies rot as their consciences did and be buried with their false promises, influence, and decaying bones!

I refer to our parents and our ancestors. I refer to the countless thousands of immigrants and slaves, who gave their sweat, blood and lives in return for almost nothing, except to give us an education, opportunities, and a better life.

May today’s money changers, profiteers, influence peddlers, carpetbaggers, snake oil salesmen, and leeches be driven out once again. May the Potomac, the Hudson and the Seven Seas part long enough for our children to escape the renewed bondage and exploitation. May the waters then engulf those spiritual traitors along with their avarice, mean spirits, and intolerance. May the vultures feed on the hatred, fear, lies and misinformation that they spread before they contaminate another innocent generation.

Allow me to repeat a treasured story. When my father came here from Ireland, the only job he could get was on a bucket brigade, emptying cesspools and sewers. The new man was assigned to the bottom and would fill the bucket and pass it up the line. He would move up the line and out of the hole by attrition and seniority. My father never accepted a promotion and stayed at the bottom the entire time he was on that job. When I asked his friends why that was so, I was told, “Son, your father took shit from no man.” How special, great, and cool is that example!

A country’s greatness is not judged by how many billionaires it has, but by how the elderly, sick, and poor are treated. Our goal should not be to get more and more for ourselves, but to make sure all have enough. I know my immigrant parents have been greeted with the words of Matthew 11:28, “Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” May we follow their example, make this a better world for all who cross our path, and hear those special words when our time has come.

Today and every day I am a grateful American. Grateful to my parents and all those who labored so long and hard so I could write these words to you. Thank you, Daddy. Thank you, Mommy. I will not betray your efforts or dreams.

In love and thanks,

Jeremiah O’Gorman

Jeremiah 29:11-13