My thanks to Mr. Z on his post on Cycle, which stirred my thoughts and thus the following in the fully linked and annotated version, which I saved the poor readers at Mr. Z's place the headache and eyestrain of a linkfest:
"Our present condition, is, Legislation without law;
wisdom without a plan;
a constitution without a name;
and, what is strangely astonishing,
perfect Independance contending for dependance.
The instance is without a precedent;
the case never existed before;
and who can tell what may be the event?
The property of no man is secure in the present unbraced system of things.
The mind of the multitude is left at random, and seeing no fixed object before them, they pursue such as fancy or opinion starts.
Nothing is criminal;
there is no such thing as treason;
wherefore, every one thinks himself at liberty to act as he pleases."
- Thomas Paine, Common Sense
We are exactly where we were, it appears, before that time when things needed to be declared... blood spilled against tyranny, yet many wanting to appease it even so... how bad things must get before we see that lack of being fixed towards liberty is tyranny in and of itself?
Indeed our Constitution is nameless... see at the top a lack of name?
We name the punishment for treason found, and well it is said two must say that this is so... yet now we cannot even say what treason *is*, and unnamed many practice it to our mutual bane.
Again and again we are told to look up to government for answers and yet, it supplies few, hidebound, static, uncaring save for those that govern. Never are we told to look to ourselves and to say, 'this is ours to have, ours to lose' for in that doing we realize we have been undone and betrayed by those we entrusted with our welfare.
We say there are those that represent us, and yet most have never voted for them. Wherefore do they come, these ones that stay in office as Nobles and Royalty?
Indeed legislation there is to great marks and depths, rules made and yet never enforced until only the rules are law in abundance and never kept, thus meaningless to all.
Once independent we now depend upon the largesse graced to us by those that rule, forgetting that such largesse is ours to start with, given freely by consent.
We have those calling for 'fair taxation' and yet we are unrepresented as most have not given the grace of ballot to consent to these rulers to tax us. Make taxation easy and forget the cost of it to you and me by paying, and in that forgetting the Tree of Liberty withers, its branches grow barren, the Republic parched beneath dead, rustling leaves.
Winds blow now anew, predators skulk in that shadow land around us and no longer do we look to the stars above to give guidance, only to those that make plans and legislations and yet they have no law to give and such wisdom is without aim.
The Great Tree dies, even as patriots die in far off land to help others learn about this Tree.
We see them learn and branches near them slowly bud with promise of new found liberty to make freedom whole. Yet by us events grow weary, slow and leaves fall around us as the heat of tyranny is felt in the land once more.
Predators come to us again, yet we dare not call them that for it would have meaning and direction to that, so in our wisdom we call them 'human' yet they are beasts red of tooth and claw.
We rejoice in one gravely wounded beast afar, and yet ignore that it regrows even as we watch and other creatures worse still grow stronger without name to them.
Others have heard that clarion call, see that guiding star and beacon, and desperately seek to find way to give the Tree nourishment, yet their fetters remain and heads bowed as beasts keep them under foot.
Now those who spoke such things are dead and their nourishment unrenewed to the Tree. Liberty dies here, even as we teach it elsewhere, and we forget the meaning of liberty as it was spoken out so long ago.
Yet the wellspring of Liberty can refresh if man and man and man come together and make it theirs to keep. Too few keep to Liberty as the means of tending called democracy has too few to govern, yet too many to rule.
We become more numerous yet those in governing fewer and fewer to us, until we know them not. Democracy is those we KNOW sent forth, not those we THINK we know. Without the cacophany of voices, the whispering of conspiracy is heard in the lack of multitude.
The only conspiracy is ours, as we think democracy can be easy to do, yet it is not easy and is the harshest, hardest, system to keep running as many another land has shown us when they took the pathway of ease and comfort. That House we built is too small, and has too few in it, yet to speak the say that too few is not democracy is to be demonized by those that wish ease and efficiency.
Tyranny is easy.
Despotism is efficient.
Totalitarianism is simplicity itself.
Democracy?
America wanted it easy.
America wanted it efficient.
America wanted it simple.
Liberty is hard.
Slavery is simple.
Best we remember that lest the beasts fit the fetters to us in their depravity which many will call saviour. And others will see as dictator.
Wherefore art thou, the Sons and Daughters of Liberty? Acting as you please in perfect dependence so that things can be simple for you?
Treason.
03 October 2007
None dare say its name
Posted by A Jacksonian on Wednesday, October 03, 2007
Labels: accountability, Common Sense, Federalism, liberty, responsibility, Thomas Paine
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