Mickey Z. -- World News Trust
Sept. 25, 2006 -- If you were to publicly declare your discontent with the U.S. government and your subsequent desire to abolish that government, the land of the free would likely reward you with an orange jumpsuit and a one-way ticket for an all-inclusive vacation at Guantanamo Bay.
Now imagine if you instead chose to stand in front of a crowded room
and utter something along these lines: "I think all men -- and women -- are
created equal and are endowed with certain undeniable rights, including
life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. To secure these rights,
governments are created and derive their powers from the consent of the
governed. Whenever any form of government tries to destroy or take away
these undeniable rights, it is the right of the people to alter or
abolish that government and replace it with a new one."
Bingo:
you're a high school history teacher. Okay class; turn to page 257.
Today we'll be talking about Patrick Henry (and don't tell me "give me
liberty or give me death" sounds an awful lot like what an insurgent
might say).
Thomas
Jefferson can pronounce: "Every generation needs a new revolution." But
that doesn't mean I can. Honest Abe once declared: "Any people anywhere
being inclined and having the power have the right to rise up and shake
off the existing government, and force a new one that suits them
better." Hey, I'd love a government that suits me -- and most
humans -- better, but making plans to "shake off the existing government
and force a new one" would just about guarantee you a place on that
secret no-fly list.
Let's
face it, revolution just ain't what it used to be. Mao Tse-Tung warned:
"A revolution is not a dinner party, or writing an essay, or painting a
picture, or doing embroidery." Today, revolution is a Chevy commercial or
a Beatles song. Che Guevara believed "the true revolutionary is guided
by great feelings of love." By 1994, Newt Gingrich and his merry band
of Republicans were using "revolution" to describe a minor reshuffling
of ruling class allegiances. "The most heroic word in all languages is
revolution," stated Eugene Debs, but if he were around today and typed
"revolution" into Google, he'd find the top response was for a software
company.
As
long as you're not talking about the U.S. government, you can have as
many revolutions as you please. You can have 33 per minute, for all
Dick Cheney cares. Fitness, music, film, art, and countless ways to
make money -- the mutinous mood is alive and well. This time around,
however, the revolution was indeed televised and is now enjoying a
long, successful run in syndication.
Can
the huddled befuddled masses snap from their self-induced trance to
recapture the subversive spirit of '76? I'll give the last word to
Abraham Lincoln: "This country, with its institutions, belongs to the
people who inhabit it. Whenever they shall grow weary of the existing
government, they can exercise their constitutional right of amending
it, or their revolutionary right to dismember or overthrow it."
Remember: Abe said it, not me.
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Mickey Z. can be found on the Web at http://www.mickeyz.net.
