Thursday, July 31, 2008

Is this thing on?

So, this is what it feels like to be the newest blogger in the world. I don't really know where to start this...so I think I'll begin here:

“I must study politics and war that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy. My sons ought to study mathematics and philosophy, geography, natural history, naval architecture, navigation, commerce and agriculture, in order to give their children a right to study painting, poetry, music, architecture, statuary, tapestry and porcelain.”
— John Adams

That works. A little revolution from a guy who knew something about changing a government.

My grandfather studied war as a soldier in the trenches of France during World War I. My father studied engineering and helped build some of the greatest structures on earth. I studied journalism (after studying a little war myself), which I'll throw into Adams' philosophy et al category (I never studied tapestry, though).

Here's a little of my philosophy — The idea of America is on the edge of oblivion.

It is under siege from within by those who have grabbed power by any means necessary and are willing to do whatever it takes to remain in power. And we, the people, have let them. We've let them mortgage our present and future as a people and a great nation through our apathy and fear.

Before it’s too late we must look at where we're heading as a country and, perhaps, take a step back and study a little politics and war. No, not like that. Not war in a "dragging-them-out-of-their-cushy-offices-and-lining-them-up" kind of way. But we do need a massive national effort to get things going in the right direction again

The time has come for change, folks, and not a little one. We celebrate the Fourth of July every year, but how many of us have taken the time to read the document making that day of picnics, trips to the beach and NASCAR races possible?

Click the link for the whole thing, but here’s the really important part:

"...Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness."

We, the People of the United States, have allowed our government to work for its own benefit rather than ours.

It's time for us to bring that to end. It's time for the governed to withdraw their consent because the current government has become as destructive to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness as George III ever was. It's not just our right, it's our duty to alter and abolish, so we can create a government that works for us. Not for itself. When all else fails, we can change the rules.

And changing the rules is what The Foggy Dew is all about.