It is important to remember that the most patriotic of American patriots have always been intellectuals: writers and businessmen, inventors and scholars. The men who forged this nation and laid the groundwork of freedom (the freedom that is such an inconvenience for today's christian fundamentalists) faced difficulties in their political lives and objected to some of the laws passed by our Congress. They were insightful people, not emotional people. They were thinking people, not religious zealots.
One of them was Thomas Jefferson, and he spoke-out when the Sedition Act was made law:
"A little patience, and we shall see the reign of witches pass over, their spells dissolve, and the people, recovering their true sight, restore their government to its true principles. It is true that in the meantime we are suffering deeply in spirit, and incurring the horrors of a war and long oppressions of enormous public debt. . . . If the game runs sometimes against us at home we must have patience till luck turns, and then we shall have an opportunity of winning back the principles we have lost, for this is a game where principles are at stake."
-- Thomas Jefferson, 1798
Thanks to Brian for sending this along.
Another great man in American history who was a thinking man AND a Christian worked diligently for the freedom of all Americans until he was cut down by an idiot Southerner who didn't think people with brown skin should be treated the same way as people with pink skin. He offers:
"The arc of history is long, but it bends toward justice."
-- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Thanks to Dave for sending this along.
It is time for Americans to turn to their hearts and souls and question their motives and ideals.
I must ask: "What is important to me? What can I do to make this world, and my nation, a better place?" Then I need to act. I need to ensure that the beliefs I hold are defended at every juncture.
The wrong-wing did not grab our government by the throat overnight, nor have they done anything to defend it, or provide for its protection. The wrong-wing has never fought the great battles, won the difficult wars, or spread the joy of American democracy through the world. They have failed America at every juncture in efforts to keep our nation safe and free.
The wrong-wing slowly took hold of our great nation by starting in the grass roots. From Anita Bryant's hateful attacks on homosexuals and the Midwestern book-burnings of the late seventies, to the dismantling of the Bill of Rights with the recent passage of the Patriot Act, the wrong-wing continues to turn America against itself.
The wrong-wing has somehow convinced the stupid people of America that this is a Christian nation that should be governed by the tenets proffered in biblical writings. It is not. They are wrong.
This is a nation of many peoples. This diaspora is what has made America great.
The time is here to take action. To protect ALL Americans: Christians and christians, and Jews and Mulsims and atheists, and families and widows and spinsters and homosexuals and homeless children and the mentally ill.
We used to take care of our citizens.
We used to care.
Let's do it again.
Peace.
No comments:
Post a Comment