The United States of America is different.
We are not France.
We are not Great Britain.
We are not Germany.
We are neither Canada nor Mexico.
We are unique.
Abraham Lincoln saw it. In his Gettysburg Address he used the phrase: "...that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."
He recognized that this is a nation under God.
No one had told him that the founders set up a secular nation. That idea had not yet been invented.
He believed, as did they, that the God who created the universe led men and women who knew and followed His principles to set forth this nation as a part of His great plan.
Lincoln's words, "...shall have a new birth of freedom..." was a confirmation of the Declaration of Independence's thought that, "all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights..."
Then he said one of the most fundamental statements ever uttered, "...that government of the people, by the people, for the people..."
That was a summation of the intent of those who set up this government: that it is not a government that should rule over the people, but is a government directed by its citizens by way of a representative republic.
As we know, however: power is infectious. Power corrupts people when unrestrained. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.
One of the things against which we must guard is giving too much power to our governing authorities.
Today, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson has been given too much power.
Watching him testify before Congress, it is evident that he is enjoying his power a little too much, and is on the brink of crossing the line into monetary despotism.
He said, “...it is only prudent to reserve our TARP (Troubled Assets Relief Program) capacity, maintaining not only our flexibility but that of the next Administration.”
In other words, he does not want Congress to mess with the power he's been given...in fact, he wants to keep it.
With the soup line growing for those who are hungry for a piece of the bail-out pie, it is time for us to exercise our government of the people, by the people and for the people.
Call, write, email or visit your Congressperson today.
If you ask for my advice as to what to say, I would tell you to tell them in no uncertain (but polite) terms to back off this bail-out stuff and practice fiscal conservatism, placing the responsibility for the ills of these corporations where it belongs: on Congress first, for requiring lending institutions to make bad loans; and on the corporate heads for not screaming out their objection to the government's intrusion into their business.
If we do not take control of this anarchical government, we will realize Lincoln's fear that we will soon perish from the face of the earth.
6 comments:
joe, I agree with you, but when your congress critter won't listen to you and the party won't run anyone else besides the incubment the voter is up "sh.. creek without a paddle." Of course I will still make wishes known, but its like spitting against the wind....WE vote them back in because the alternative is worse than what we are staring in the face....stay well....
I addressed this today also, Joe. My article is entitled Political Reality. Tomorrow, I will add yet another thought, appropriately called More Political Reality.
You are exactly right. We'd better wise up.
Semper Fi
*sigh*
Joe joey,
Lincoln was a deist. An incredible amount of his personal and professional correspondence has been preserved, and he is never quoted professing his belief in Jesus Christ as the only Son of God, in whose name one can only achieve salvation. He never even mentioned the initials JC.
Ever.
The relevance of the Gettysburg Address is that, for the first time in a very significant way, Lincoln stressed the importance of the Declaration of Independence as our Founding Document and premise, over the Consitution. The Consitution was not our founding document, it was the Declaration.
Our laws are fundamentally based upon and derived from the Declaration, not the Constituion.
The Constitution can be amended, but the declaration cannot ever be.
That is to say that principles like "All men are created equal" precede and inform the consitution, and that our rights may be temporally commemorated by the constitution, but driven and founded by the Declaration of Independence.
That's a radical set of concepts - Lincoln was not a Christian, but beleived in the divine, and he looked to the Declaration over the Constitution for inspiration.
tapline: It's all about the numbers. They listen to numbers. That is when large numbers of people contact them about a single issue with a particular point of view, they will even change their minds and then say they've always felt that way.
Sure are they all, all honorable men.
mustang: I'll get right over there and read what you wrote, which I do every day, BTW. And love it!
mainstream--i-cello: Maybe you should learn to read. After that read my post over again and learn what I really said.
Maybe you'll even get its point, which you totally missed.
Go Bama!!
Good choices for Secretary of State, treasury, Commerce and AG.
OOOO-RAH!
oh, your clock-timer-blog-comment-stamper-thingy is running 1-hour ahead for whatever reason. It's 9:31 CST as I write this.
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