Posted on 09/18/2009 12:53:26 PM PDT by neverdem
Very thoughtful posts and great profile page. Thank you.
I know.
Flip answer, eh?? Or so it seems. Yet, I assert that the heart of our entire National — perhaps even global — governance debacle lies in the two words, “I know.” Or, rather, in the absence of them.
I know, because I have taken the initiative to investigate, to gather data from multiple sources. To fearlessly connect the dots, as it were, and see what pattern emerges.
I know, because, despite my government school education, I read more books than they told me I had to, and was led to think more deeply about core principles than was required for the average schmuck to hack out the occasional five-paragraph essay.
I know, because, I discovered the value of the enriching fruit called “knowledge,” that was yielded by my own investigative efforts; that those who gather and consume it posses a distinct advantage in the game of life; that even simply knowing could be of inordinate value.
I know because I discovered that knowing was possible, powerful, and profitable, and, therefore, I determined to continue knowing more.
Sadly, for this Republic, as well as the world at large, my experience is not the norm. Not that it’s utterly anomalous, just that it is not universal; an insufficient number of citizens of these United States currently hold adequate equity in knowledge; among “the masses,” knowing is not generally held in high regard beyond the realm of pop trivia.
So, folks can often tell you who starred in every movie they’ve seen in the past couple of years, but, in the realm of truly noble ideals and principles, they mostly don’t know.
They hear stuff, blink, and think to themselves, “Okay.”
Nevermind who said it. Was it a crook, a Judge, someone who’s both? They don’t know; it takes too much of their time and effort for them to know. Besides, for ever so many of them, when they have actually made the effort to know for themselves, they frequently encountered knowledge with which they disagreed. This made them feel yucky, so they decided not to do that anymore.
After all, why plumb the depths of the noble-sounding but politically discomfiting ideas of a bunch of long-dead ex-European white guys, when there’s so much fiction to consume? And why even consume that when there are ever so many tunes waiting to be downloaded to one’s iPod??
Principles? Idealogical constructs? Tenets of morality and ethics?
Who has time for it when they could be plugged into their ear buds watching “Charm School”, and texting with another equally-vacuous mentality??
If the United States eventually fails as a sovereign, representative Republic; if the blazing torch of Lady Columbia fades into the annals of human history, Her epitaph will read, “Had they but known.”
I so agree with your assessment of the state of our language.
English is overwhelmingly rich in exacting words - so much so, that it is possible to describe and communicate the smallest, most refined details of thought, yet our people, for the most part, fail to master the use of this palette of nearly unlimited verbiage, and instead, have fallen to communicating with a very limited, and rudimentary vocabulary.
The American people's successful quest for emancipation from the crown of Great Britain was accomplished through the intelligent (and eloquent) application of language, as much as it was by the use of force and arms.
The ideas and concepts that shaped our nation, which animated our people's contest against Great Britain for our freedom, and which set forth our ideals of freedom and liberty, have stood as the bedrock upon which the greatest execution of greatness ever witnessed, was accomplished. And they were laid there by men who had the ability to precisely communicate those ideals to theirs, and future generations of Americans.
Ready when it is!
Beautiful!!
You may have seen this before: If you have a pistol, you
can obtain a submachine gun. If you have a submachine gun, you
can get a BAR. If you have a BAR, you can get a 90mm cannon.
If you have a 90mm cannon, you can get a tank, etc.
Thanks for your tag line. I didn’t know JFK said that.
No wonder he was so popular.
Declaration of the Causes and Necessities of Taking up Arms
Friday, September 18, 2009 12:53:26 PM · by neverdem · 66 replies · 1,776+ views
The number of views is significant!
Liberty!!
I don’t find a source for this quote. Please provide.
BTTT. PING!! More relevant than ever.
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