“Among the natural rights of the Colonists are these: First, a right to life; Secondly, to liberty; Thirdly, to property; together with the right to support and defend them in the best manner they can. These are evident branches of, rather than deductions from, the duty of self-preservation, commonly called the first law of nature.”
— Samuel Adams, The Rights of the Colonists, The Report of the Committee of Correspondence to the Boston Town Meeting, Nov. 20, 1772
Now that we are thinking (a little) about the ideas of independence, freedom, liberty and the founding principles that made America the greatest nation in the world, this is probably a good time to choose whether you will live like a person determined to be free… or not.
These aren’t shallow words, but what do they mean? They were written by Brigadier General Anthony Wayne in a short letter to George Washington after they won an important victory at Stony Point. Wayne was wounded by a bullet in his head. It was said he had to write this letter to Washington before he would let them take the bullet out of his head. The letter read:
Stoney Point [N.Y.]
16th July 1779 2 OClock a.m.Dear Genl
The fort & Garrison with Colo. Johnston are ours—Our1 Officers & men behaved like men who are determined to be free.2 Yours Most Sincerely
Anty Wayne
Are you living like a person determined to be free?
Are Americans living like a people determined to be free?
How are we going to get this feeling back? Fireworks and cookouts certainly aren’t doing the trick.
I’m convinced that the only way to return to the kind of American exceptionalism that founded this nation, is to encourage you, to look in the mirror and say… to believe… “I want to live like a person determined to be free.” Then you convince the next person, then another.
“You and I have the courage to say there is a price we will not pay. There is a point beyond which they must not advance… you and I have a rendezvous with destiny. We’ll preserve for our children this, the last best hope on earth.”
~ Ronald Reagan
History is made when one person, does a humble act, then others follow. There will never be a great leader of nations from the start. Don’t wait for others to lead. Don’t ask whether others will stand on the principles our Founders pledged their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor to uphold and defend.
Do look in the mirror and pledge to yourself, your family and to future generations:
Or don’t.
“If you love wealth greater than liberty, the tranquility of servitude greater than the animating contest for freedom, go home from us in peace.
“We seek not your counsel, nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you; May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen.”
~ Samuel Adams
“It would be a dangerous delusion were a confidence in the men of our choice to silence our fears for the safety of our rights; that confidence is everywhere the parent of despotism; free government is founded in jealousy, and not in confidence; it is jealousy, and not confidence, which prescribes limited constitutions to bind down those whom we are obligated to trust with power; that our Constitution has accordingly fixed the limits to which, and no farther, our confidence may go…In questions of power, then, let no more be said of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution.”
(“The Kentucky Resolution of 1798,” Annals of America, 4:65-66; emphasis added.)
“Let no more be said of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution.”
Thomas Jefferson
… One giant step for our country.
There is only one way, in my opinion, to begin the process of refounding our country on the principles and values that created it. The problem is, it’s so simple, no one believes it will work. It doesn’t involve massive grass root efforts by hundreds of people. It doesn’t involve any real organizing at all. There is only one thing that can stop this nation’s move towards Progressive Socialism:
Individual, principled actions taken by morally clear people, on a local level.
That’s it.
People need to start standing up for what is right. Taking a stand means speaking your mind, even if you are sure your words will be refuted; sometimes violently. Individuals need to take action, even small actions that illustrate and model for others, what it’s like to be a person of principle.
What can be done? Here are some suggestions:
Get to know your neighbors. Find out where they stand. TALK TO THEM! If you find out where your neighbors stand, you will stand a better chance of surviving an emergency in your immediate neighborhood. Think about it: you can have 10,000 friends on FaceBook, but if a local or national emergency comes around, who’s going to be the one in the best position to save or protect you and your family? And if your neighbor believes that people like you should be put in FEMA camps, best to know this kind of information early on, when you can do something about it… like move, or stock up on ammo.
Start speaking out, even in the smallest ways. Why not make a point of writing a letter to the editor, and sending copies to all of the papers in your state, once a week? What’s the worst that could happen? Better yet, start taking note of those in your community who are already writing pretty good opinion pieces. Write to them and maybe make a lunch meeting out of it. What if five of these people formed an informal writers group, and promised to send a letter a week to all the papers? What if each of these individuals had five friends of their own, doing the same thing? Let your imagination go with that. It doesn’t have to be organized, but what if the paper is getting 25 or more well written op-ed pieces — all expressing conservative, principled ideas — a week? Would things appear to change? Maybe. Would you begin to become acquainted with dozens of LOCAL people who believe many of the same principles you do? Damn Skippy!
I’m sure there are more ideas like this, but you get the point. Real change begins at the local level. It is real and lasting ONLY if people form REAL relationships based on shared principles.
It’s the only way that we can all stand together, so the chances of hanging separately are greatly reduced.
Please feel free to comment any other ideas you might have.
If you were asked whether you would stand up and defend the Constitution of the United States (original meaning, not Supreme Court Interpretation) what would you say?
Yes, or “Well… some parts need to be looked at more closely.” (That means no, in a black and white world.)
Should we be allowed to say, “Well I love that 1st Amendment thing, but that 2nd one… I’m not too sure about that one….”
I don’t think so. What kind of world would we have if, for example, people got to pick and choose which of the Ten Commandments they wanted to stand up for? Uh, well… THIS KIND OF WORLD!
It’s time we came up with some kind of easy way of getting a sense of what people really believe; where they really stand.
If you knew that there were millions of people all over your state, and all over the country that would stand up for all or most of the same things you stood for, what would that mean to you?
Your thoughts?
I Will Stand 