On the eve of the 4th

Musing on the idea that our image of ourselves as a nation and our historical reality diverges deeply at times, but that great unifying force between the ideal and reality is the guarantee of free speech and ownership of ourselves and private property. These are arguably our most vital and unique rights, and those to which we must devote our vigilance.  Standing up for these rights, the rights within our Bill of Rights, is vital.  Because it is difficult to hold to an ideal, and we have failed at different times in our history.  But we always come back to the Bill of Rights,  and when we get it wrong, we correct it.  Slavery, women's suffrage, and other important issues that followed the first ten amendments to the Constitution sought to remedy errors or omissions in the original documents.  We can grow and learn as a nation, and we should always be working to become more like our ideal.  As Michelangelo said when he was asked how he could carve such a perfect statute in the David, 'I just removed everything that was not the David, and there it was.'  

We have a fine touchstone, a guide, a constitution that defines us, that does not allow for loss of rights or restriction of freedoms.  We have seen the tactics used to silence the truth, and they are ugly.  Slander, libel, miscarriage of justice---we have lived with this for the past 6 years, because we have had the courage to speak the truth.  This information is too powerful to ignore and cannot be silenced.  

You are a part of a true grassroots movement to speak out about UN Agenda 21, about the co-optation of the environmental movement by corporate interests, about the slow absorption of our government into the corporations.  More information will be indexed and categorized and retained about you than ever before.  It is being used to sell, manage, monitor, control, and restrict you.  Your government, through your elected officials, unelected boards and commissions, local neighborhood associations and groups is balancing your individual rights with the 'rights of the community', and you are losing.  Keeping you quiet, sedated, passive, compliant, consuming, exhausted, distracted, frightened, ignorant, and confused is the order of the day.

Let's hew toward a more perfect union, a closer match with our ideal as a nation.   Let's not let ourselves be led to demand what the corporatocracy is in the process of giving us.  Because as we become poorer we will shout for more government control, more government assistance, more restrictions on others, and if we are not wise and not courageous we will assist in that plan.