Posted on 07/22/2008 9:13:13 PM PDT by kathsua
The movie "The Patriot," starring Mel Gibson and released some years ago, was loosely based on the real life revolutionary soldier Francis Marion. Nicknamed "the Swamp Fox," he is considered by many military historians to be the father of guerilla warfare.
There is a scene in the movie, which takes place in Charleston, and there is a debate over imposing a levy to fund the revolution. Some were against the levy, preferring instead further negotiations with England. Others who wanted to be self-governing were not in favor of all-out war with England. Gibson's character, during the debate, asks the profound question: "Are you prepared to trade one tyrant 3,000 miles away for 3,000 tyrants one mile away? An elected legislature can trample a person's rights just as surely as a dictator."
We made that trade. And for better or worse we became a self-governing nation, with the power vested in the people. Along with the vote, which became more inclusive over time, also came an awesome responsibility. That responsibility is not merely to take time to put a mark on a ballot but also the challenge to be educated on the issues, to put petty self interests aside and to look to the overall health and future of a nation based on freedom.
It has unfortunately been denigrated to the seeking of power for political parties with little or any thought given to the corruption of the freedoms so fiercely fought for by thousands of Americans.
We citizens get so involved in our everyday lives that we allow those political parties to feed us platitudes and sound bites that when analyzed, are on the same intellectual level as a sketch from "Saturday Night Live." And with that as our source, we feel are informed voters.
Our Constitution was written by educated men, who were masters of the English language. It is not the book of Ezekiel translated from three or four languages that calls for biblical scholars to interpret. It clearly delineates the power of government and is written as a restrictive document. We need to once again become familiar with it, and most importantly, go by it.
A friend has for years displayed a simple sign in his business: "Don't' re-elect anyone." I am beginning to think it quite profound.
‘the patriot’ kind of sucks. Got all excited thinking it was going to be another ‘Braveheart.’
Good subject matter but they couldn’t pull it together.
Should have let Mel direct, could have been a classic.
I, too, agree. I would vastly prefer to lose the occasional top notch senator or rep with the assurance that we would not be saddled with the daschels, kennedys, reids, and pelosies, etc. The list could easily be lengthened by adding to it from the republican roster.
“Are you prepared to trade one tyrant 3,000 miles away for 3,000 tyrants one mile away? An elected legislature can trample a person’s rights just as surely as a dictator.”
I rather doubt Francis Marion actually said that. However, I think it refreshing (for a change, good to see something besides the usual Commie spin) to see something like this said. Only Mel Gibson could slip in something like that.
Whether Francis Marion ever said it or not, it sure hits the nail on the head.
So do I. We’ve seen the occasional attempt to institute term limits for congress critters, but it’s built in; we have but to use it.
The problem is we have so many people in this country who don’t take their responsibility to vote seriously enough to become informed on the issues and their reps’ and senators’ behavior, so that they can effectively use it.
Are you kidding? The movie was far deeper and more complex than Braveheart (though not as beautiful). I won’t compare the two but The Patriot was excellent.
Term limits would result in the permanent bureacracy becoming more powerful. The answer is to actually elect REAL CONSERVATIVES.
But the question is ... how do you separate the "wheat from the chaff"?
The normal working stiff only has limited time to get through the maze of disinformation, spewed at him daily, to reach the truth.
That is if he is going to work, raising a family, mowing the lawn, eating, sleeping, etc. etc.
“The problem is we have so many people in this country who don’t take their responsibility to vote seriously enough to become informed on the issues and their reps’ and senators’ behavior, so that they can effectively use it.”
Not true. We recently had a multi-million dollar bond issue to raise taxes on every property owner in the school district to pay for boondoggles and raises for education bureaucrats. Every fat welfare momma and their drunk boyfriends showed up at the polls to pass the tax increase. Needless to say, these groping pigs don’t own property.
On the other hand, we can never vote on how much money is given to these leeches for their daily supply of beer and soap operas.
That's not what is at issue at all.
In most every totalitarian system where there are "elections", "voter participation" approaches 100%. Means squat.
No, the real problem is an electorate that takes no seriousness in actually educating itself about this country, it's past, it's present, it's tenuous hold on it's future, the candidates themselves and their backgrounds, and how they offer approaches to our perceived problems, and the issues themselves.
Now, what makes this particularly difficult at this juncture in our nation's history is that (1) most all of the present electorate is the product of that educational swamp called the public school system, controlled by unrepentant leftists who hire out other unrepentant leftists, fellow travelers, Fabians, and other assorted useful idiots to educate indoctrinate our young 'uns; and (2)said electorate, trained to a fault in the mechanics of "short attention span theater", get their "news" (such as it is) from a mass media full of unrepetant leftists who are even more blatant in their left-wing biases than the electorate's "teachers" in school were.
Originally, I thought that this country would commit suicide on the installment plan, but the "outcomes-based" education that is perfecting and producing the New Soviet Man appears to be on the verge of finally bearing fruit.
A lot of people out there (maybe even a majority) can see through the media's transparency in their "coverage" of this presidential election cycle. The real question is, however, will any of these people actually do something about acting on this perceived knowledge?
We are in a lot more trouble than most people believe. Short of drastic measures, I don't know what the answer is to all these seemingly intractable societal problems. I realize on this forum I preach to the choir, but the simple fact of the matter is we have to try and use the system to beat the system.
For a lot of people, alternatives to public schooling aren't acceptable or attainable. Therefore, we have to persuade people to (1)educate their kids as best they can, and then have them tell the kids, "Hey! After you're finished with school, you're probably going to have to forget most everything you've been taught, and realize that you real education begins at that point." Then (2)we must use any and all means available to instill the knowledge at all levels of society that then old media, the "Mainstream Media", is no longer COOL, that's it's old, dying, useless, and full of manipulative lies, and that the real future, the future we can believe in, exists on the Internet.
The corollary of the Internet thing, of course, is to maintain awareness of it's status, and fight to insure that nothing like "gatekeepers" emerges.
Saving the country and it's future doesn't have to be a full time job, but it does require some effort, and if done right and persistently (the key!), it should produce some welcome benefits.
At least, that's how I see it.
CA....
The movie National Treasure posited that there was a map on the back of The Declaration of Independence. I, too, believe that there is a map on the document. however, I believe it is on the front.
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