July 4th: Depend on us day.

July 4th: Depend on us day.

By R.J. Godlewski
© July 2, 2009, All Rights Reserved.
(Right Truth Exclusive)

“Don't tell people how to do things, tell them what to do and let them surprise you with their results.”

“I don't measure a man's success by how high he climbs but how high he bounces when he hits bottom.” 

Gen. George S. Patton

    As a nation rapidly losing its heritage through ever enlarging federal entitlement programs, I have spawned mixed emotions regarding celebrating our Independence Day holiday this year. On the one hand, I am extremely proud of everything that my country has achieved over the past 233 years. Did ancient Egypt teach men to fly? Did ancient Rome land upon the moon? Did Muhammad invent rock and roll? Of course, there’s always the “other hand” to such arguments. Would our founding fathers have anticipated the size and intrusiveness of our present government? Would Patrick Henry accept a commander-in-chief who berates his own nation at every turn? Would the inventors of the Boston Tea Party have believed that over two hundred years into the future there would still be a need to address tax grievances in America?

    Make no mistake about it; our founding fathers did not imagine for a moment that their miniscule nation would survive two centuries into the future. They were realists, not idealists. What inspired them to throw caution into the wind and risk everything was not that their new country was the panacea for human rights, but that their concept of a free and responsible individual was. This was unheard of at the time. For thousands of years, civilization had been patterned on the concept that the few ruled the many.  There were kings and reagents, administrators and emperors, but few outside the social elite had a prayer of a chance to impart change. In England, even the lords could not address the crown without bowing their way backwards out of his or her presence.

    Our founders saw things differently. They were driven to extremes as evident by the second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence:

“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.”

    In our modern, politically correct environment, it is considered sacrilege to use the term founding “fathers” but it is obvious that they possessed balls nevertheless. These tiny thirteen countries willingly signed their own death warrant. They told the most powerful and, arguably, most unstable monarch in the world that people were the foundation that any government rested upon and to add salt to an opening wound, any one person was equal to that very same monarch and possessed the very same rights, freedoms, and opportunities. Think about it. I doubt very much that you can.

    In 2009, we are afraid to say that while singer Michael Jackson may have had extraordinary musical talent, he was by no means a “king” (of pop or otherwise) and was probably just as disturbed (if not more so) than George III. Nearing the conclusion of the first decade of the 21st century, our media – ascribed to uphold our best interests by way of journalistic tradition – is afraid to acknowledge that President Barack Obama is by no means either a king or a messiah. That he is simply a man deriving his “powers from the consent of the governed”.

    This is precisely why my soul remains heavy and sad during this particular period within our history. I feel that we have come to celebrate “Independence Day” less than we celebrate the “Fourth of July”. We have diluted the day as much as we have collectively diluted Christmas into mere “Holidays”. By doing so, we gravely misjudge the reasoning and purpose behind both. Men are to be free and governed, not ruled and subjugated. Our national leadership is supposed to listen to our voices, not act upon their preferences within secretive sessions, late night votes, and subliminal agendas.

    Our “coordinator in chief”, as C4ISR Journal refers to the president, is but a man – an employee of “We the People” – and his fundamental responsibility is to uphold the Constitution of the United States. Not even a year into office and he has already trash talked his nation, commandeered the auto, banking, and student loan industries, and is on the verge of enforcing national healthcare. King George had less control over the colonists. King Philip of Spain conquered an entire hemisphere merely by controlling the mercury used to refine gold – the rest of New World exploration was left to opportunists, explorers, merchants, and malcontents, the kind of people that felt quite at home developing a new nation of individuals.

    Sovereignty has been sucked from our populace. We are no longer a people reared on the responsibilities and opportunities of the individual. We have simply become incapable of effort. I remember my own father praising the merits of Franklin Roosevelt’s Social Security program: “He made it so that I would no longer have to work!” I knew what my father meant; after working his life away in hot, filthy, automotive forging plants, when both emphysema and a mangled foot made it difficult to continue on, he was able to “retire”. I seriously doubt, however, that President Roosevelt expected my father to be retired for decades. Then again, what could you expect from someone who thought that he deserved to be president for at least sixteen years?

    Our culture ceased being independent when those amongst us considered Social Security to be “their money”, when new college graduates mandated that the federal government do something to “guarantee” them employment, and when those who have made piss-poor decisions demanded that the rest of us absolve them of all responsibilities for their indiscretions. Things became terminal when our elected officials made it a crime to challenge the unrepentant, to seek out individuality, and, most of all, to consider that inalienable rights came as a gift from God and not legislated as privileges by those currently in power.

    Therefore, I wish to extend to all, a very happy and enjoyable Fourth of July. Have fun at your weekend barbecues, your sporting events, and watching your multitude of fireworks displays. Remember, always, to do precisely what your government tells you to do. Listen obediently to your president, your Congress, and your Senate. Do exactly as they tell you to do. Normally, I would extend congratulations on experiencing another Independence Day but, frankly, I do not think that you possess the necessary balls to be an American…

.Ray Charles, America...

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Patton Speech, 2009... .

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You can't take a stand, sitting on your butt.

Comments

[MK]

A brilliant article.

Is why i don't feel much like celebrating for you folks. Don't get me wrong, i am grateful for America and what Americans have done for the world. However i don't think we in the western world are free anymore. When i look into the future and where we are headed, i cannot see things getting any better.

[Debbie]

Thanks everybody, and Sue glad you visited. Yes the Grouch is my sweet hubby. I was not aware of the problems with migraine meds and age and heart problems.

Debbie

[Sue]

Wonderful, wonderful post! Thanks for posting it, Debbie! So much truth in it...

Thanks for the comment about my migraines. My dr. told me he feels I am too old for "migraine meds" such as Imatrex, Maxalt, etc. That and the fact there is heart disease in my immediate family...So, I suffer on.

Nice to "meet" you. I think I have "met" the mister...The Grouch, right? You two carry on! Enjoy both your blogs very much!

[Ron Russell]

It always seems that when America needs a great leader someone will come forward and take the helm--at present we are adrift and rudderless, but that will change and the ship of state will be righted again.

[David (DW)]

We need another case hardened Patton to step forward and take over the presidency, unlike - uh - sorry, I can't remember the name of that limp-dicked republican candidate last year.

[Butch]

Debbie, Happy 4th of July to you and yours!