From the Radio Free Michigan archives ftp://141.209.3.26/pub/patriot If you have any other files you'd like to contribute, e-mail them to bj496@Cleveland.Freenet.Edu. ------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------ * WHAT TODAY'S AMERICANS DON'T UNDERSTAND * ------------------------------------------------ By Charley Reese, Syndicated Columnist There are three things every American ought to read: the DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE, the CONSTITUTION, and the FEDERALIST PAPERS. None of them is difficult reading. They are not obscure dissertations written by pedants to impress pedants. All three were written for the average person and widely published. The Declaration contains the philosophical premises of the American Revolution. A lot of Americans today clearly don't believe in them. A lot more have no idea what they are. The Constitution is the compact drawn up and ratified by the people who created a government consistent with the philosophical premises of the Declaration. Incidentally, the government created by that Constitution is not recognizable in Washington, except in the barest outline. The Federalist Papers are a series of articles written and published in newspapers during the debate over ratification. They are arguments in favor of the Constitution and its original intent. There are many paperback editions available. All of this is 100 percent relevant to today, for whether you agree or disagree with the premises and principles of the American Revolution will determine how you view current political issues. In a nutshell, the basic premises of the American Revolution are these: people are born free and equal, their rights a gift of God, the only legitimate purpose for government is to protect those rights, when government instead abuses those rights, then people have the right and the duty to overthrow it with force and violence, and to form a new government that will protect their rights. Too many Americans today, consumed with material pursuits, their brains spongy with trivia and amusement, their spirits timid and corrupted with whining and pleading, view such sentiments as absolutely radical, if not subversive and, God forbid, even leftist. Their standard question to public officials and candidates is, "What are you going to do for me economically?" You would thing listening to American political debate, that the American Revolutionists were all Marxists and that nothing in the world matters but economics. I'm sure most people if they ever find themselves standing before God will hand him first their financial statement. Freedom in this modern, Orwellian America, is something that is "defended" overseas but otherwise never mentioned in polite conversation at home. A true son or daughter of the American Revolution will be more concerned about freedom than about making it easier for the police to catch criminals; more concerned about property rights which are the basis of political freedom, than about schemes to control traffic and housing developments; more concerned about freedom than in accomplishing social goals at the expense of freedom; more concerned about freedom than about some fool being corrupted by what he reads or sees. Basically what it means to be free is to be let alone. People have a right to be let alone. They have an obligation to leave others alone. They do not have a right to subsidies, to be liked or approved, or granted favors. Just let alone. Nor do they have an obligation to like, approve or grant favors to others. Just to leave them alone. This clearly is not understood by the sons and daughters of the welfare state. Gays, for example have a right to be let alone, but they demand that others approve of them. They have no right to approval. Others demand so called equal opportunity , but they want a lower standard of test scores or physical demands. Everyone has a right to be treated equally. No one has the right to demand special treatment. Clearly, freedom demands a better class of human beings - human beings who value freedom more than wealth or personal security and who don't need the approval of others to bolster their weak egos. ------------------------------------------------ (This file was found elsewhere on the Internet and uploaded to the Radio Free Michigan archives by the archive maintainer. All files are ZIP archives for fast download. E-mail bj496@Cleveland.Freenet.Edu)