So Fitzmas came and Fitzmas went. Not only that, Fitz is both a trick and a treat depending upon your perspective!
However, my passionate friends left of center, as I am not a Southern Catholic boy, I do not feel compelled to follow the ancient tradition of twelfth night. Therefore, let it be heard far and wide that I intend to toss my Fitzmas tree out on the curb today.
Or, in the case of some of you Crushies for Fitzie, you can put your walmart specials back in the drawer only your grand jury knows about!
To be sure, I love fun and games. For me, Fitzmas Eve was about the anticipation, the snark, and the entertainment value of a floundering President and his Party. Fitzmas itself was deadly serious and humbling as both an American and a human being. While my diary has opened with playtime, it is about to get immensely serious. Let’s get significant!
I am not a popular or well known voice here at Booman. But, with the 2006 midterms now only a year away, I thought it might be a good time to jump in and start to play! It would appear that a bungled war plan (or lack thereof), Mother Nature, a broken faucet of corruption and cronyism, and finally Fitzmas have fostered a rare opportunity for We the People to actually participate in the selection of our representatives once again.
Remember these two crucial phrases because I shall refer to them often in this discussion!!
And…
These phrases aren’t supposed to be rallying cries used by politicians every two, four, and, six years to stir up the electoral base when they need our money, time, and votes. No they are not, but like our flag, they have been debased for just such marketing purposes. At this moment please stop reading this diary and take a moment to reread the phrases above. Then, if you will be so kind, click the links and at least peruse the mighty documents in which they are woven! I’ll wait…
…are you back? Those phrases are the fabric of our liberty and our collective fortune! First I shall dissect them clinically and then I will emote their passionate reverberations. (We the People) hold these truths to be self-evident! The subject of the previous sentence (in parenthesis) is from the preamble to The Constitution of the United States of America, while the predicate is the opening sentence to the second paragraph of our Declaration of Independence! These bold and intricately simple proclamations discuss the actual creation and composition of the government itself. The government is created by us. The government is comprised of us. The government is chosen by us. The government is determined by us and re-determined by us time after time after time! The United States of America is an experiment in eternal revolution and the redeclaration of independence from itself.
As the left spectrum in this prism we have ceded our role in the process and by default chosen to eliminate the effectiveness of the Republic. If we do not mount a serious effort for every open seat at every level of government during the next one, two, and three years, We the People can no longer blame the Right! We can only blame ourselves, because We the People have not had the inspiration to both participate as candidates and to support those of us who have had the courage to do so! Until we Choose to regain and reward the bravado, creativity, and freedom which thrives within some among us, we will continue to lose ground to the Right and our Republic will remain in jeopardy. A republic can’t seek sunlight without equally functioning parts. Only when there is a finely tuned balance of thoughts, ideas, and beliefs will the three branches of our government work in harmony again. Our privilege and obligation is to find it in our hearts to no longer tolerate defeat. Not before we are defeated, not while we are being defeated, not after we have been defeated, and most certainly not when we have claimed victory.
So I have discussed We the People, but what of these truths which are so self-evident? I am not bright enough to tamper with the teachings of the Founders. They got it correct the first time, right down to the name of the King (ignore his number if you will).
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. 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. Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain [George III] is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
Just for a moment ignore all the stuff about men and god if it offends and focus on the rest. Pay attention to our government’s responsibility to serve the needs of We the People. Then notice how We the People have every right to remove any government which isn’t directly representing us. This right isn’t granted to us by the Founders of our Nation, or by the leaders of our Party, or by anyone for that matter. We have these rights and have always had these rights. They are our birthright and they belong to all human beings. That is the overriding principle glistening throughout these documents if ever there is one. Furthermore, it is hidden in the secret language those of us über-educated folks like to call plainspoken English. So buried in the text is it, that Maryscott’s child could find it. Now why can’t we? Why can’t they (our political opponents on the Right)? Moreover, why can’t our leaders?
So this becomes our challenge. This becomes my challenge. This becomes your challenge. We must accept the role of We the People again or we are condemned to a life of haphazard and ineffective leadership. I plead with you to search your local parties, boards, towns, cities, counties, districts, states, and everywhere for positions in which you can affect a progressive change. There are thousands if not tens of thousands of seats throughout this land in which you are needed. There are hundreds in which you could run unchallenged. There are hundreds more where our opponents will run unchallenged if we permit it. This is inexcusable. Why should conservative values go unchallenged for the position of school superintendent in your town? Why should a dittohead run unopposed for Congress in your district? Why aren’t you in the game. I am speaking to you. If We the People run for office supported by We the People then we again have a government of We the People.
If you recall my paragraph so long ago about our floundering opponents, it seems We the People have a rare opportunity. By combining the overly apparent flaws of our opponents with our revolutionary open source medium for sharing news, ideas, and information there is no reason We the People can’t run for office without the privilege and the blessing of power. Furthermore, we have a blossoming liberal radio network, and at least a handful of sitting politicians who will at least offer We the People peripheral support. The political plates underneath our feet are about to shit and We the People will make history. This history will be written in twenty-five, fifty, one hundred, and five hundred years and you and you alone can decide upon the story it will tell!
And so I ask of you! Who has the courage to grab the brass ring, because We the People will support you!
“Scoop” Nisker, a San Francisco radio personality, has a tidy little catch phrase:
If You Don’t Like the News…Go Out and Make Some of Your Own!
Let’s go out and make some news of our own!
crossposted at myleftwing
