So I was thinking the other night it has become very apparent that those in power in Washington are intoxicated with power and have made themselves wealthy beyond measure will never willingly give it up.
Actually, this was a paraphrase of this quote. “Those who have been once intoxicated with power and have derived any kind of emolument from it can never willingly abandon it.” — Edmund Burke
I prefaced this blog,with this true statement because “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad man.” John Emerich Edward Dalberg, 1st Baron Acton (1834–1902), British historian. Letter, April 3, 1887, to Bishop Mandell Creighton. The Life and Letters of Mandell Creighton, vol. 1, ch. 13, ed. Louise Creighton (1904).
Since 9/11 (and before) corrupt men in power have themselves passed legislation to make the American public subservient to their own evil desires. They claim it is for “Our Safety” or to “Keep America safe.” You see the premise is that loosing our freedoms adding security will keep someone who might strap a bomb to their body and detonate themselves will bring irreputable harm to the Nation. Well no, the Nation didn’t fall apart on 9/11 but rather rebounded. It was the legislators who crush the Nation, they formed agencies, TSA, Homeland Security, etc. Made it possible that the Military to arrest citizens for no reason at all, and hold them indefinitely. All these things have been making me question as to my stance, Like Benjamin Franklin said “ They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” I think about William Wallace and his rallying cry of freedom for the Scots, the cry of freedom of our founders, the stance of freedom against Adolf Hitler by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. The thousands who wanted to be free from tyranny either from within or without. They died for the freedom the were seeking. In the movie Brave Heart Mel Gibson portrayed William Wallace, before a battle this speech was given when he (Wallace) rode into the battle lines.:
William: Sons of Scotland, I am William Wallace.
Young soldier: William Wallace is 7 feet tall.
William: Yes, I’ve heard. He kills men by the hundreds, and if he were here he’d consume the English with fireballs from his eyes and bolts of lightning from his arse.
I am William Wallace, and I see a whole army of my countrymen here in defiance of tyranny.
You have come to fight as free men, and free men you are. What will you do with that freedom? Will you fight?
Veteran: Fight against that? No, we will run, and we will live.
William: Aye, fight and you may die, run and you’ll live. At least a while.
And dying in your beds many years from now, would you be willing to trade all the days from this day to that for one chance, just one chance, to come back here and tell our enemies that they may take our lives, but they’ll never take our freedom?! Alba gu brath!
This then is the question I’m asking myself what then would I be willing to die for. I’d take a bullet to protect my family, I won’t betray my God. I heard pro gun advocates say “They can have my guns when they pry my cold dead fingers off from it.” I’ve even used that statement in conversations, but the question is would I be willing to point my 12 gauge at someone at my door and take their life for freedom. It looks like that might happen to this country one day. I’ve been looking for work in Canada to escape and it doesn’t to be happening. So is the rally cry I need to voice is freedom. How do we obtain freedom? This is where the divide between liberals and conservatives need to end and join forces. Wallace didn’t have red vs blue, they were Scotsmen, willing to die to rid their lands of the English. General Washington didn’t have the divide either he had Patriots. So then why can’t their be a temporary truce and rid ourselves of power-hungry men of corruption, regain our freedom. The other issue’s that divide can be hammered out later.
How about this, Term limits, Politicians can’t spend more money than what is brought in, make government smaller than the national debt can be reduced, eradicate laws that inhibit manufacturing. Oil use won’t go away, it’s not just for auto’s. Oil is used for plastics, health care, etc. Open the way up for the Keystone pipeline and reduce US dependence on OPEC.
Liberals and Conservatives can’t we agree on these. If we continue to divide we’ll continue down the slope and end up in some sort of totalitarian oligarchy. Then I fear civil war will break out. Then we as the people will have to drop our titles and be forced to fight together.
So then the question is how much do I relish true freedom, am I will to die for it as Patrick Henry said to the Virginia Convention March 23, 1775, “Give me liberty or give me death.” Would I be able to say those words and mean it.???
Rose B
January 5, 2012
Things are such a mess. Not sure I’ll see this country to a good end before I pass. Just a note. You mentioned Opec…did you know that our current number one EXPORT is gas and oil? So…how does OPEC play into this? They are such liars and manipulators. Good luck in your own search for sanity in this upside down quandry we are in…Rose