Many people have talked about the Declaration and rightly so, it is a document worth everyone talking about.
I have a slightly different take today; based on something many others have noticed about celebrating today.
I'm sitting here listening to a few (or more) of my neighbors violating the law....and I don't mind. They are shooting off a variety of fireworks instead of "leaving it to the professionals".
I think that is the major, fundamental difference between those who want more and bigger government and those that don't. It may be safer to leave fireworks to the professionals, but it isn't as much fun, nor do I believe it is in the spirit of the holiday.
See our government...that which is "OF THE PEOPLE, FOR THE PEOPLE, and BY THE PEOPLE" wasn't founded by professionals. There were no professional rebels, just average citizens deciding they had enough.
Read the Declaration, pay attention to the first line
When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with anotherNot "when it becomes necessary for one government to take action" not "when it becomes necessary for one colony to dissolve",not "when it becomes necessary for professional rebels to act"....just people.
The people who want big government are the people who want the professionals to handle everything. The people who want big government are the people who want to reduce individual risk...who want to make the world safe. These are the people who forget the country wasn't founded by professional.
There are people who want to make their own decisions, risk their lives, their fortunes, their health. These are the people who remember how the country was founded.
The people who wrote that Declaration, the Constitution, and founded the country didn't wait for the government to solve problems nor did they wait for the professionals.
For those tempted to forget how the country was founded...look further in that incredible statement by the people.
But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.Enjoy the Holiday...enjoy the fireworks, but remember the reason we celebrate.
8 comments:
You can score it however you want, but the American Republic has been dying the death of a million cuts ever since Lincoln, and arguably even George Washington re: the "Whiskey Rebellion".n This death is accelerating at a faster and faster pace.
It's a nice idea. "Self reliance and accepting accountability for one's own acts."
It's also a dead idea for all practical purposes and has been for some time.
There's nobody much left that will fight for what this country was supposed to be, a loose SEMI-democratic confederation/REPUBLIC of states for the sake of eased trade and mutual cooperation.
Fourth of July should be a day of mourning, not celebration. It's like reminding a mom of the anniversary of her miscarriage or a father of the death of his son to a heroin overdose.
Before anybody points out "Oh yeah? It's the best country in the world!" I shall point out that just because other places suck more and are less free is no excuse to embrace our losses of freedom and the indifference of an indolent population to attempt to wrest them back.
"Pass me another Miller Lite! Is American Idol on? When will the burgers be done?"
My two pence.
One other thing before I go related to fireworks and professionalism.
You wouldn't turn your kid loose with firearms without training. People do that with fireworks which is why I have to keep watch on fireworks holidays with a big hose and a hydrant. Where I live it hasn't really rained much for 4 years. Great time to give 12 year olds the tools to burn down my property.
As to the Revolutionary Army "not waiting for the professionals", they didn't wait for the professionals because the MAJORITY OF THEM WERE PROFESSIONALS. Members of the militia that fought the Indian Wars and drilled under Brits before the separation. Some of them were members of Roger's Rangers, the predecessor of all modern Special Forces troops. Lafayette came over from France and helped out drilling the recruits too.
Believing that the Revolutionary Army was a bunch of amateurs (and don't EVEN stretch it to "led by amateurs") is historical hogwash.
The spark of the American Revolution may have begun in the ranks of Rogers' Rangers.
One of America's best officers during the Revolution was John Stark, who had been Rogers' Lieutenant.
In 1775 former members of Rogers' Rangers fired upon the British at Concord and Lexington touching off the revolution.
Amateurs....
Here endeth the lesson.
I dont have historical data to quote. I just want to say that I think we can all agree that this country HAS lost its direction. There are alot of people out there with their hands out. And I can't help but beleive that it is dragging the hole country down. The work ethic of most americans has deminished. And rightfully so. They have been beat down by ridculous regulation, rules and poor judgement on their partput in place by our elected officials. tThe fact is that we are ALL to blame for where we are today. The way I see it is that those who spoke up, are not speaking loud enough to inspire the quiet ones. And the quite ones need to get off their asses and stop expecting the professionals to do it all. We all are americans and we are all entitled to our opinions. Right or wrong. We all can make a difference if we wanted to. Some just choose not to.
Thats my 2 cents.
Tom,
I'm not arguing there weren't professional soldiers. I have no doubt of the professionalism and training of the individual soldiers or units.
I'm saying there were no professional rebels.
There wasn't any one to lead revolution and found a country that had done it before.
The men and women who founded the country were professionals in more careers then I'll ever dream of being.
As far as fireworks, yes I think this is an excellent time to hand a 12 year old fireworks. I think the parents should be responsible for the actions of their kids, that the kids should be responsible for their own actions. Including fire awareness.
What I hate is the attitude of it is too dangerous for the 'regular people' to do.
We can't educate our own kids, we can't tell if our houses are ready to live in, we can't judge for ourselves if a restaurant is fit to eat in....we can't do anything without a professional from the government telling us it is okay or not. BUNK.
Should the individual decide if there is too much fire risk, YES.
Should the individual decide and take precautions for accidents and fires, YES.
But to leave it to the professionals is creeping nanny statism.
SuperFrik,
That is what I'm talking about.
I don't think we've had our rights taken away from us as much as we've allowed our rights to slip away.
I think you are right about the quiet ones and the loud ones. That was why I liked the TEA parties so much. I think we are seeing the quiet ones speaking up. I hope that we can maintain that for the next couple of years.
Thanks for reading and commenting
Mark Steyn
THE STATE DESPOTIC
...It’s not something you can sell the film rights for —there are no aliens vaporizing the White House, as in Independence Day; no Godzilla rampaging down Fifth Avenue and hurling the Empire State Building into the East River. No bangs, just the whimper of the same old same old civilizational ennui, as it gradually dawns that Admiral Yamamoto’s sleeping giant may be merely a supersized version of Monty Python’s dead parrot.
...
The sovereign extends its arms about the society as a whole; it covers its surface with a network of petty regulations—complicated, minute, and uniform—through which even the most original minds and the most vigorous souls know not how to make their way… it does not break wills; it softens them, bends them, and directs them; rarely does it force one to act, but it constantly opposes itself to one’s acting on one’s own … it does not tyrannize, it gets in the way: it curtails, it enervates, it extinguishes, it stupefies, and finally reduces each nation to being nothing more than a herd of timid and industrious animals, of which the government is the shepherd.
Tom,
Thanks for a great read.
“It does not tyrannize, it gets in the way.” The all-pervasive micro-regulatory state “enervates,” but nicely, gradually, so after a while you don’t even notice. And in exchange for liberty it offers security: the “right” to health care; the “right” to housing; the “right” to a job—although who needs that once you’ve got all the others? The proposed European Constitution extends the laundry list: the constitutional right to clean water and environmental protection. Every right you could ever want, except the right to be free from undue intrusions by the state
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