Ever hear of Karl Hess? He was an American, and one of a kind; he wrote speeches for Barry Goldwater, protested the Vietnam war, wrote the GOP's platform in 1960 and '64 and later joined the SDS. He was a famous (or infamous) tax protester, who the IRS slapped with a 100% lien, leaving him to survive the last 30 years of his life by barter. (Karl to IRS: "But I'll starve." IRS: "Not our problem." Yikes!)
He saw politics up, down and sideways; from the outside as a newsman and from the inside as an activist.
And here's his gem about Nazis: "Adolph Hitler as Chancellor of Germany is a horror; Adolf Hitler at a town meeting would be an a——hole." --I'd add a caveat: unless he's the only one who shows up at the town meeting.
History gets written by the people who show up. If you're concerned that a movement you think is a good idea might get dominated by people with philosophies you despise, get involved and push back. And if you don't like the movement itself, if you think it's wrong, pull up a soap box! --But show up. Yelling at the teevee doesn't count.
Personally, I'll not leave one bit of the Bill of Rights for jerks to dominate. Bad enough the 4th is under heavy threat, bad enough Freedom of Assembly gets shoved around any time a big enough dignitary comes down the pike -- there's ten on the list, pick one or two and get your shoulder to the wheel.
Yes - but show up where the enemy and the action is. One of the easiest places to show up is in the comment section of your local "newspaper."
ReplyDeleteThere will always be at least one nationally syndicated columnist to rebut - and more than one local dunderhead to school. Often the editor.
Anyone who has even a fundamental grasp of history, and does his required reading, can play shredder all day long.
Stranger
'Strewth.
ReplyDeleteI remember Karl well. He's the guy who said the public school system is nothing more than a giant babysitting service!
ReplyDeleteHow right he was!
Yellin' at the TV doesn't count? How did my blood pressure get so high? I didn't yell loud enough!
ReplyDeleteWorking on the showing up, have contacted and visited the office of the current Representative to Congress.
Can only say, "Amen", Bobbi.
ReplyDeleteHmph. This sort of thing simultaneously encourages and irritates me. The focus on the Bill of Rights is wrong, and I begin to understand the faction of the Framers that didn't want one.
ReplyDeleteThe Constitution does not enumerate the rights of the People. The Bill of Rights is neither more nor less than a list of the rights the Framers considered most likely to be infringed upon, with specific prohibitions against doing that.
Of course, within minutes after passage the statist/nanny/goon alliance started narrowing the rights of the People to those on the list, and the process is now far advanced -- see "Right to Privacy" debate(s). It's not what (most of) the Framers intended.
Regards,
Ric