Thursday, May 7, 2009

Declaration of Patriotism

of armed troops among us:
the most wholesome and necessary
of immediate and pressing importance,
We must, therefore, acquiesce

and our sacred Honor,
the opinions of mankind,
destructive of these ends:
our Lives, our Fortunes,

the Laws of Nature and of
Governments are instituted among
a long train of abuses and
Systems of Government.

Prudence, indeed, will dictate
an absolute Tyranny over these
the rights of the people. Such
has been the patient sufferance
for light and transient causes;

for opposing with manly firmness
Petitions have been answered
that they should declare the causes
to be self-evident, that all men
are sufferable than to right themselves

To prove this, let Facts be submitted
For quartering large bodies
of their Public Records, for the sole
political bands which have connected
places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant

it is the Right of the People
refused for a long time,
after such dissolutions,
for the public good,

to tyrants only.

3 comments:

Kalee said...

lest we forget that when we pledge allegiance to the flag... we pledge no such allegiance to whatever tyrants may use it for their own gain.... a big amen, and thank you for stopping by my blog as well :)

Kalee

dogimo said...

Kalee, my response was about to be quite simply:

"WORD."

But then I thought, "No. Too much chance of that being misinterpreted as dismissive or insincere."

I could not agree more with you. Those who occupy the halls of power while flouting the rights and laws they have sworn to uphold are not "above the law" - unless we allow them to be. They are criminals, pure and simple.

Really this principle extends to any, in any position of trust or authority, public or private, who abuse their trust and go against the stated (or sworn) aims of the entity that installed them. From bad presidents to bad CEOs to bad cops to bad priests. The organization has a responsibility to expect some corruption, to be vigilant against it, to have procedures in place for investigation and appropriate steps for removal and punishment if a charge of corruption prove true.

But the fault does not belong to the flag, the seal, the institution - for the actions of those who egregiously violate what it stands for.Thanks you for making a much-needed point!

dogimo said...

Although sadly, many today seem to crave tyranny. They want to hand government the right to abrogate the rights of others (and consequently, their own as well though somehow they do not seem to get this).