"With hearts fortified with these animating reflections, we most solemnly, before God and the world, declare, that, exerting the utmost energy of those powers, which our beneficent Creator hath graciously bestowed upon us, the arms we have compelled by our enemies to assume, we will, in defiance of every hazard, with unabating firmness and perseverance employ for the preservation of our liberties; being with one mind resolved to die freemen rather than to live as slaves." -- John Dickinson and Thomas Jefferson, Declaration of the Cause and Necessity of Taking up Arms, 1775
How many of you while staring down the barrel of a soldier’s rifle would make the same vow as did these brave souls 237 years ago? I pray we never have to choose again to be free men or slaves. I am of the mind that our soldiers, police and their leaders would not arrest us for being obedient citizens while following the constitution. I choose to believe the generals of our nation’s armed forces would not turn on the citizenry.
We should concern ourselves with making the political changes necessary with great expediency at the ballot box in order for this action to never again to reach this fever pitch. If that does not work then we shall see the resolve of the modern American in comparison.
Reflect on some of the words used by these men to describe their passion: “hearts fortified,” “solemnly,” “before God and the world,” “in defiance of every hazard,” “unabating firmness and perseverance” and “being with one mind resolved to die freemen rather than to live as slaves.”
Belief in God, fellow man, and freedom does not run much deeper than that which these men were willing to bravely sacrifice themselves for.
--Steve Ramey, American, USMC Vietnam Veteran & freedom lover, 30 October 2012.
Semper Fidelis et Vigilo!
If you are truly worried about your freedom then you best be concerned about those who want to restrict access to the ballot and diminish the power of the individual by granting personhood to corporations.
If you really believe that the police and military wouldn't turn their guns on us, then why do you say in the very next paragraph that political change is necessary to avoid a repeat of the Revolutionary War? The Republican party has been drifting further and further to the right since the GOP was established. This has accelerated greatly with the wins by the Tea party in 2010. The Democratic party HAS NOT answered with an equal polarization to the left. If anything, they have become more centrist by adopting ideas abandoned by the Republicans in their race to the right.
As the author of two highly influential pamphlets at the start of the American Revolution, he inspired the America Patriots in 1776 to declare independence from Britain. His principal contributions were the powerful, widely read pamphlet Common Sense (1776), the all-time best-selling American book that advocated colonial America's independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain, and The American Crisis (1776–83), a pro-revolutionary pamphlet series. Common Sense was so influential that John Adams said, "Without the pen of the author of Common Sense, the sword of Washington would have been raised in vain." He became notorious because of The Age of Reason (1793–94), his book that advocates deism, promotes reason and freethinking, and argues against institutionalized religion in general and Christian doctrine in particular. He also wrote the pamphlet Agrarian Justice (1795), discussing the origins of property, and introduced the concept of a guaranteed minimum income. He died on June 8, 1809. Only six people attended his funeral as he had been ostracized for his ridicule of Christianity.
Let's not get off track and respond to Steve's post, shall we? I understand what he's saying. Freedom doesn't jut 'happen". They fought for it, we have to fight to maintain it. Is that what you're trying to say, Steve?
Steve, who was it that said something to the effect that a democracy only lasts about 200 years before it begins to fall apart?
“A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government. A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse doe to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship.” The liberals in congress, typically but not always found in the Democratic party, are simply following a tradition clearly discussed over 200 years ago. Our democracy is mature and past the 200 year cycle predicted by history. Professor Tyler went on to say the following about the 8 steps that a democracy goes through: 1.From bondage to spiritual faith; 2.From spiritual faith to great courage; 3.From courage to liberty; 4.From liberty to abundance 5.From abundance to complacency; 6.From complacency to apathy; 7.From apathy to dependence; 8.From dependence back into bondage
Take away your business with arbitrary regulation and enforcement... Take away you land with public projects or for the friends of the government... Take away you money with increased tax. The use your taxes to harass with frivolous claims... The same men that stood up to the guns are dieing today... Mohamed Bouazizi's self-immolation in protest of police corruption and ill treatment. Roswell Chicken Man, Andrew Wordes who tried to fight back against government abuse ended when died after burning down his home All while the cowards stand around looking and saying its so sad... They will leave you with your guns... for now
I don't think the professors theory applies at all It is not the people voting for increased benefits but the Military Industrial complex and the top 1%.The empirical evidence suggests that most of the income increases over the last ten years have gone to the top 10%.I would also suggest that the professors platitudes are nothing more than bulls***t that has been used to keep the common man or the middle class down and to justify the corporate welfare payments from the treasury. The liberals did leave a budget surplus until Bush and the Republicans started two unpaid wars, tax cuts for the wealthy, etc.
The Citizens United Supreme Court decision was the worst blow to liberty in this country than some government program to aid its citizens. The idea that our democracy is now under attack and can be bought by plutocrats and multi- national corporations is appalling. What is worst is the lack of recognition of this fact by many of our citizens including many of the people who make comments on Patch.
PLEASE wake up ... one of your WARS above was started by the group led by the man your presidential candidate REPEATEDLY claims to have taken out. You may not have cared for Iraq, but stop shoveling this talking point
My point was that we should have paid for these wars instead of running up the debt.
Mr. Ramey, you have a most interesting, if somewhat distorted perspective of history. You cite both John Dickinson and Thomas Jefferson as champions of freedom, yet you ignore their hypocrisy. Dickinson did not free any of his slaves until two years after he penned the passage you have cited. Jefferson owned hundreds of slaves, and never freed a single one. We know now from his history with Sally Hemmings, that he was not above sexually exploiting the women he enslaved. Freedom to these men meant freedom for white male landowners. I see this philosophy appeals to you. The Tea Party would revise and rationalize history to make our forefathers infallible deities. We don’t need you to clean up history for us. We are willing to acknowledge the human frailties that afflicted the people who founded our country and move forward from there. If someone today boards a commercial vessel, near Somalia, and commits an act of piracy to advance a political cause we call it terrorism. Because it happened in Boston Harbor, and it serves your purpose better to clean it up, you call it a “tea party”. The actors were patriots not terrorists, because you find the reality of history is too difficult to admit. Your entire organization has been established in homage to an act of terrorism. Good Work! If you choose to invoke history as a basis for your view of the world, you have an obligation to report it accurately and completely. Don’t be such a hypocrite.
Steve, Please elaborate. If you lose at the ballot box (and you will), precisely how does such resolve of the "modern American" manifest itself?
Now I am being called out by a first time contributor? Hummm!
Steve: The person posting is not even worth a moment of your consideration. I hope you enjoy your evening.
There's not much room to dispute that point since LBJ proved "guns and butter" game didn't work as planned back in the 60's.
The deranged and malevolent left crucified GWB for being an adult and a statesman; they lionize Obama for being an adolescent demagogue.