Reflections On The Revolution

"God bless the love of liberty that birthed my country and the skeptical spirit that will protect us from tyranny..." -- Robert P. Dean

I recently returned from a trip to Boston, Massachusetts where I was able to finally re-envision the hopes, dreams and intent of the Founding Fathers... men brutally tortured and murdered for their belief in a government "OF the people, BY the people and FOR the people." And I realized, sitting in the Green Dragon Pub, a backstreet hole-in-the-wall along the Freedom Trail, where the arguments against tyranny and the inherent realizations of liberty and democracy had their genesis, that we, as a nation, somewhere, somehow, have lost that vision and it saddens me.

   One of the principle foundations of this country is a deep and abiding mistrust of government. It is referenced throughout the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights and echoed in grassroots movements across the country still today.
   Government is necessarily a product of man, and men are, by their nature, driven by power, greed, ego... weak and corruptible. And it’s these realizations that lead to our sovereignty long before other countries ever dreamed of living in a free society.

   But the one thing that really keeps me up at night is the fact that we are headed down a dangerous road because half of America is living in this weird, Utopian dream state. Study history and find just one example of a country or empire that has gotten it right. The United States, by all accounts, seemed to have the right formula for awhile but we’ve lost our way. We’ve bastardized the one document that seemed to have embraced history as its teacher in an effort to build a successful, democratic republic, free of tyranny.

   The great experiment is failing. Violence WILL eventually come to our time as it has since the beginning. It’s no longer a fringe cry, its history repeating its true nature. Many throughout have recognized and shouted to the world to be weary of ignorance much as our forefathers have done. They weren’t extraordinary men but they bothered to understand the history of man.

   And so now we find a man 12 days into office, spouting rhetoric about world peace and prosperity in a one-world government, void of individuality and the spirit of entrepreneurship and a desire to succeed nominated, and later chosen, to receive the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize, fueled by his visions of "Hope" and "Change." This is truly an 'Obama'nation to those who sacrificed their lives in the pursuit of freedom- people such as Gandhi, who changed the course of history in a non-violent struggle against British imperialism and yet was never nominated to receive the same accolades despite massive beatings, torture and imprisonment.

   So does everyone now get a trophy in this "Feel Good" society we've created? This could easily equate to the last place little league team passing out trophies to every kid, even though they didn’t perform well. Meaningless. Maybe in this case they passed out the trophy before the season even began.

   If Obama accepts this award, he puts America in the world’s pocket, not to mention himself. How can he accept this and then turn around and send more troops to Afghanistan? How can he be Mr. Nobel and send our armed forces anywhere? America and its interests will be attacked, worldwide, with impunity. Just take a close look at the devaluation of the dollar in the world market.

   The world has seen through this man. They recognize that his vanity and ego supersedes all and they are using this to manipulate him and to shape U.S. foreign policy.

   We are a free, democratic republic where the PEOPLE rule. But apathy stands in our way as Congress and the White House become more arrogant and deaf to the collective voices of their constituents, who obviously know NOTHING about what is best for them. Their narcissistic attitudes reinforce their belief that THEY can do more for you than you can do for yourself. And that when you resist, you simply “just don't get it." ENOUGH is ENOUGH... 2010 is just around the corner and its time to put Congress on notice. It’s time the American people stand up, stop TALKING about it and rise to the occasion before we find we have NO right to question the government without retribution.

   God bless the love of liberty that birthed my country and the skeptical spirit that will protect us from tyranny on a global scale and echoing the words of Thomas Jefferson...

   "A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have!"

By R. Philip Dean, Editor, The Agnostic Review

Email: robertdean@SpotTheDog007.com