Parts of the following post are taken from previous essays.Morristown Tea Party – October 31, 2009
It wasn’t so very long ago that I would have laughed at the notion that I would wind up here at this podium, on this Historic Green, speaking to so many fellow patriots on this final weekend before election day.
I am not a politician looking to sway your opinion or garner your support. I am not a celebrity, a talk show host nor a political pundit. I have never spoken at a political rally in my life. I am, just like most of you, that regular guy who gets up every morning to go to work, who pays his taxes, who enjoys sports, a glass of wine and a good cigar, and who derives most of life’s pleasures in the company of family and friends.
I’m nobody special, and yet, being a citizen of this great nation, I am blessed beyond the wildest dreams of so many others - and like all of you here, I also understand that with those blessings comes an obligation to be informed as to what is happening in our country, and to remain vigilant against any foe, both foreign and domestic, who would infringe upon our sacred liberties.
Last year, as election day approached, I was very apprehensive about how the American electorate would react to the empty promises of Hope & Change. Once the results were in, I feared for the direction the new administration would take the country, but in my most terrible nightmares I could not envision the breadth and depth of change and the speed at which my beloved America would be transformed. Think about it….
One day we stand as a free market, entrepreneurial prosperity machine. Businesses rise, prosper, and expand. Occasionally poor decisions cause failures, businesses collapse, and some new idea, some new phoenix, rises from the ashes with a better plan, a more efficient model, and the internal fortitude to take a gamble, to risk it all, for the endless opportunities that are there for the taking.
One day we elect statesmen who take moral stands, who make us proud, who are honored to serve their nation, yet humbled by their awesome responsibilities. We stare down oppression on the global stage, defeat our enemies while sacrificing our sacred treasure, and then rebuild the ravages left behind out of our boundless prosperity.
One day we are a nation of self reliant individuals, making our own way, content that the sweat of our brow brings sustenance to our families, and allows us to provide some relief for the unfortunate through that charitable virtue that is part of America.
But One day we awaken and realize that the America we knew and loved has been turned asunder, raped and pillaged, not by an external enemy, but from within, by those we have entrusted with the stewardship of our republic.
The beefy paw of government now intrudes throughout our society, promising precise, surgical corrections of our economy, our social structure, our core being as Americans, while in reality wielding a mighty club, and striking out with abandon.
No longer are market forces allowed to make corrections, nor risk takers to find reward or failure. In lieu of statesmen, we find headlines reeking with news of corruption, scandal and infidelity. Sham legislation awards benefactors, hacks, and special interest groups, in a shameless redistribution of wealth, taken from the producers and doers via an endless mill of taxation.
Now we find our elected leaders apologizing for America’s deeds and actions, coddling our enemies, and inviting those who would do us harm to probe what they perceive as the soft underbelly of a once mighty beast. Only the presence of the brave men and women of our armed forces keep us safe, but even that great deterrent is subject to the misguided leadership of its commander.
The strong, silent individual, emblematic of America, has been pushed aside by groups demanding entitlements, professing grievances, and fighting for a place to be suckled under an all-encompassing, ever-expanding federal bureaucracy.
Jefferson wrote “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 power in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.” I suggest that we are now faced with the reality of those words, and must use the means available to us through our laws and through our vote to correct the damage that is being done to our country.
Now let me ask you a question,
Have you ever wondered, What is the Color of Liberty?
The June 12th election in Iran was supposed to be a well orchestrated show of the peaceful re-election of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, put on for the benefit of a skeptical global audience. All was in order, the outcome predetermined by Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, when something went terribly awry.
Supporters of opposition candidate, Mir Hossein Mousavi, in a bold move against an oppressive government regime, staged a massive, deliberate protest, claiming that the election was rigged. Donning green tee-shirts, green arm bands and green paint, the protesters took to the streets, cognizant of the fact that they were now targets of the police and the dreaded Basij. A green wave of protesters, families, throngs of young Iranians and women in black chadors risked their lives to throw off the yoke of tyrannical government and reach for the gold ring of liberty.
The protests were crushed by the government enforcers, but months later demonstrations continue, and having now tasted a bit of free speech and self-determination, a young, restless population, tired of Sharia Law, may be sowing the seeds of revolution once again in Iran.
Flashback – January 2005, Iraq. Despite the media criticism of that unpopular war, despite the nay-saying of Ted Kennedy, John Kerry, and The New York Times, despite the infighting, border disputes, and tribal feuds of its peoples, the desire for liberty brought out the Iraqi people in droves to vote on their collective future.
Sporting blue fingers, Iraqi voters demonstrated on the global stage their hope for a better future - a future rid of a tyrannical dictator, rid of mass executions, rid of rape and torture rooms. Men and women, aware of the threats of violence, vengeance and death, bravely waited on voting lines and triumphantly raised their blue hands in defiance of those who would condemn them to a hijacked, perverted interpretation of Islamic law.
But what of America? What of the nation that spent its sacred treasure to bring the blue fingers of liberty to Iraq, to inspire the green hands of protest in Iran? What color did liberty take in today’s America?
November 4, 2008, almost a year ago to the day – Over 129,000,000 million Americans would cast their vote for president. One party would put forth an eloquent, young, charismatic candidate, savvy of the day’s communication technology, aware of a youthful, energized voting block, and promising handouts, equality of results rather than opportunity, and an all caring, omnipresent government that would tend to every need, reward the underachiever and punish the wealthy. The opposition presented an aging, honorable war hero - a good man who was not quite up to the fight, who marginalized his conservative base in an effort to appeal to his opposition - A man who abandoned his supporters, who had rallied behind him, ready and willing to fight, waiting only for the battle cry that never came.
The results are history. The majority of the electorate cast their votes for handouts and entitlements. They painted their hands white as they surrendered a piece of liberty here and a freedom there, in exchange for a government to which they would become beholden. Some painted their hands yellow, afraid to speak out against a charlatan candidate for fear of incurring the wrath of the politically correct media, while still others did nothing, failing in their civic duty.
These are not the colors of liberty in America. It was the red blood of Americans that wrenched liberty from the British Empire, and it was that same crimson blood of Americans that would later rescue liberty from the clutches of tyranny and totalitarianism across the globe. The colonists voted with red hands in Boston Harbor in 1773 and again at Lexington and Concord in 1775. The Founding Fathers knew they were voting with red hands when they put those hands to paper in 1776, culminating with John Hancock’s declarative flourish. The red hands of Americans were raised in Bellau Wood, Iwo Jima, Normandy, Korea, Southeast Asia and the Middle East. Throughout history America has voted for liberty, both at home and abroad, with the blood of its sons and daughters.
So what now? In a country of law and order we vote not with arms, but with the power of the word. We do not shed blood, but neither do we meekly stand by and surrender our Republic and our liberty without a fight. Our weapons are our pens, our phones and the awesome power of the internet. The enemy is anyone who would seek to diminish our freedom, confiscate our treasure and intrude on our lives via a burdensome, meddling government that has forsaken the values, traditions, and the constitution, of our country. We have a civic duty to vote – to vote with the red hand of America.
If we do nothing, we cannot complain when our taxes are raised to pay for undisciplined spending and bailouts. We cannot complain when private enterprise is replaced with more government bureaucracies. We cannot complain when our inheritance to our children is confiscatory taxes, a crippling national debt, diminished global influence and vulnerability to the forces of terrorism. We cannot complain when we are forced to wait months for routine medical treatment or when we must watch our parents, grandparents and other beloved family and friends denied treatment because they have reached an age when their “useful viability to society” has been deemed to have run its course - instead seeing them forced to undergo “counseling” by a cost-conscious government employee, who will advise them to consider their “end of life options.”
Now you must be wondering, why I am I up here preaching to the choir? Haven’t we all risen to the occasion? Aren’t we the ones who have been energized into action?
Here we are in the waning days of October, basking in the glow of our efforts to counteract the aggressive assault on our country, on our way of life, and on our Constitution, by an arrogant, condescending president, supported by a radical congress, intent on foisting its socialist agenda on America. Aren’t we proud? Haven’t we finally awakened from our malaise to speak our mind, to shine the light of truth on the bastardization of the founding principles of our nation by those to whom we have entrusted their care?
We have risen up at Tea Parties across the fruited plains, culminating with a massive demonstration of our resolve on September 12 on the very lawn of the Capitol, taking over Washington in the greatest display of conservative emotion ever witnessed in D.C.
We have come out in droves to Town Hall meetings, forcing our elected officials to hear our discontent and shouting down the normal barrage of talking points and outright lies that have been spoon fed to the electorate for decades. We have stopped the initial attempt of the administration to ram through health care legislation before Labor Day that this country neither wants, needs, nor can afford. We have fought the good fight so why shouldn’t we be proud?
Well, wake up America, We Ain’t Done Nothin’ yet! The real moment of truth is yet to come. The long awaited harbinger of things to come is right around the corner. That so called Bellwether event is just three days away.
Up to now, our representatives have been listening, have been watching, and have been measuring our resolve, because in the world of politics the only thing that matters is the vote, and up to now, no one has been thrown out of office, no one has suffered the wrath of the electorate. Congress has moved boldly along, picking up the health care issue and moving steadily forwards. Pelosi is intent on a “public option” and the Left is in her corner. Obama, whose approval rating is starting to once again improve, has continued to show a deaf ear to the voice of the people in almost every regard, from bankrupting domestic policies to malfeasance in foreign affairs. The likes of Charlie Rangel laugh in the face of blatant allegations of abuse and the Czars run rings around constitutional authority.
In three days the good people of New Jersey and Virginia will decide whether or not this raping of America continues unabated, or whether some moderate voices, concerned about their own political future, begin to reign in this mad dash towards Socialism. In three days the Gubernatorial elections in the Garden State and the Old Dominion State will ascertain whether or not the electorate is willing to carry through with its threat, or whether we’re all talk and no action. Rest assured, Congressmen, Senators, Governors, and elected officials right down the line will be paying rapt attention to the outcome of these two elections.
Your vote is a precious gift, and when you enter the voting booth, it should be just you and your conscience. I will not be so bold as to suggest who you should or should not cast your vote for. It is up to you to research the candidates – both their positions and their character – and come to the conclusion of who best will represent your ideas and values. You’ll know the right choice – you’ll feel it in your gut.
It should be obvious that I personally believe the current trends of the new administration have perpetrated more malicious damage to our country in such a brief period of time that the only way to reverse this trend will be the election of candidates who will support the virtues of personal responsibility, individual liberty, limited government and free markets.
A sweep of both elections by candidates who espouse these principles would send a strong message that the silent majority has awakened and has brought its discontent to the ballot box. A sweep by those who march in lockstep with the administration would only embolden the liberal congress, and would in fact emasculate the conservative opposition as nothing but a passing fad, all bark and no bite. A split would be claimed as a victory by both sides and accomplish little.
So what can you do now to bring all our recent efforts to fruition? Here in New Jersey you must get out and vote, and you must energize as many other patriots who want to preserve our way of life, our culture, our tradition, our very liberty, to vote also.
When you leave here today you must send this message to your email list, to your Facebook or Twitter list, to everyone you know and ask them in turn to forward it to their lists with the intent of alerting as many of the voting public in New Jersey and Virginia that the time to act is now. The great states of New Jersey and Virginia can be today’s Lexington and Concord.
The battle to retake America was begun months ago with the first grassroots uprising of those ordinary Americans who love this country. These upcoming elections are the first decisive battles in a long war to which we are all committed. Your efforts as you go forth today will go a long way in completing the first goal we all set out to accomplish many months ago.
My fellow patriots! The first finish line is in sight. March on with passion and resolve, and keep your eye on the prize, for it is no less than our sacred liberty and the America we all love so deeply.
Thank you. God Bless You – and God Bless America.
**************************************
