Let every American, every lover of liberty, every well wisher to his posterity, swear by the blood of the Revolution, never to violate in the least particular, the laws of the country; and never to tolerate their violation by others.

As the patriots of seventy-six did to the support of the Declaration of Independence, so to the support of the Constitution and Laws, let every American pledge his life, his property, and his sacred honor; let every man remember that to violate the law, is to trample on the blood of his father, and to tear the charter of his own, and his children's liberty.

Let reverence for the laws, be breathed by every American mother, to the lisping babe, that prattles on her lap; let it be taught in schools, in seminaries, and in colleges; let it be written in Primers, spelling books, and in Almanacs; let it be preached from the pulpit, proclaimed in legislative halls, and enforced in courts of justice. And, in short, let it become the political religion of the nation; and Let the old and the young, the rich and the poor, the grave and the gay, of all sexes and tongues, and colors and conditions, sacrifice unceasingly upon its altars.

While ever a state of feeling, such as this, shall universally, or even, very generally prevail throughout the nation, vain will be every effort, and fruitless every attempt, to subvert our national freedom.


- Abraham Lincoln, January 27, 1838
  Address Before the Young Men's Lyceum of Springfield, Illinois

Thursday, May 31, 2007

When hope melts


The good shine from afar
Like the snowy Himalayas.
The bad don't appear
Even when near,

Like arrows shot into the night.

-Dhammapada, 21

So what does it mean when the 'snowy Himalayas' melt?

Will the good (still) shine from afar? Or will 'the good' also pass away with the glaciers? Will all hope melt with the pure, white Himalayan snows?

There is a danger in knowing too much. There is an old mob saying: "You know too much; I'm gonna have to kill ya." I sometimes think that knowing too much will kill you anyway. Eventually, it kills your spirit.

"The illusion of freedom will continue as long as it's profitable to continue the illusion. At the point where the illusion becomes too expensive to maintain, they will just take down the scenery, they will pull back the curtains, they will move the tables and chairs out of the way, and you will see the brick wall at the back of the theatre."
- Frank Zappa

Does anyone really want to know how 'low we can go?' How corrupt, how greedy, how devoid of any empathy our government, our corporations and their 'think tanks' really are?

Aren't we raised to believe in the American myth; America, the 'good guys?' The 'land of the free, home of the brave?' Are we really ready for the truth?

Ron Paul has amassed a staggering number of devoted followers - I heard them in action on Bill Maher - because he tells the truth. But can 'truth' get elected? Or are the powers that run our nation just too strong now? They certainly own both parties in our two-party system. They appear to now own the courts, including the highest court in the land. They own the media, outright. Do they also now own the minds of the people?

A Guantanamo detainee committed suicide yesterday.
Soldiers in Iraq just want to know when they can come home. Cindy Sheehan gave up the peace movement in despair, saying that "Casey died for a country which cares more about who will be the next American Idol than how many people will be killed in the next few months." Meanwhile prominent neocon Norman Podhoretz wrote in a Wall Street Journal op-ed that he 'hopes and prays' that President Bush will bomb Iran.

And still it goes on. This violence, the war lust, the greed, the insanity. Nothing changes.

There is a theme here. Loss of hope.

I share in Cindy Sheehan's recent loss of hope. I am searching for it everywhere, but it escapes me. The glaciers are melting (US federal government won't lift a finger to do its part, in spite of a grassroots effort to bring about this change.) The seas will rise. Democracy is dying and Lincoln's greatest fear has come to pass: corporations have been 'enthroned.'

So many Americans are still asleep. What will it take to awaken them -- and do they really want to be awake? Mainstream media works 24/7 to lull them into a dormant trance; a trance in which 'don't worry, be happy' is directly tied to 'buy this product, it will solve all of your problems.'

I honestly don't blame folks for escaping into 'American Idol.' Who would want to know all of this... devastation really exists, this heart of darkness beneath the surface of the American experience?

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