Front Sight, Press

“We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness — That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed, 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 Powers in such Form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.” — A bunch of scary subversives, July 4th, 1776

I wonder what Thomas Jefferson would have thought of the Internet and F-16’s flying combat air patrol above the cities of his beloved republic on the 4th of July. My hunch is that he would be fascinated by both although saddened and puzzled by the terrorist threat implicit in the CAP’s. I also suspect that he would be outraged by the so-called “USA Patriot Act” (USA Big Brother Act).

It was Jefferson who said, “I prefer the dreams of the future to the memories of the past,” and I suppose that the eternal optimist would say the same thing if he were here to speak for himself today, but also, I would guess that he would strongly urge us to remember — to remember who we are, where we came from, and the principles of liberty which have guided us for these 230 years.

“Time indeed changes manners and notions, and so far we must expect institutions to bend to them. But time produces also corruption of principles, and against this it is the duty of good citizens to be ever on the watch, and if the gangrene is to prevail at last, let the day be kept off as long as possible.” — Thomas Jefferson to Spencer Roane, 1821.

Jefferson often worried about corruption of the revolutionary spirit, and of course, he was right about that too. He knew that the energy which had pulled us together as a nation, against all odds, was our passionate commitment to liberty, the unalienable rights of the individual, and the dream of a nation where everyone stood on equal footing in the eyes of the law. Bereft of this driving passion we would be lost. He knew that comfort, convenience and complacency would conspire against the raw passion of the Revolution to drag us back toward slavery.

“I will not believe our labors are lost. I shall not die without a hope that light and liberty are on steady advance.” — Thomas Jefferson to John Adams, 1821.

If there be such a thing as ghosts, I hope the ghosts of the patriots walk our streets tonight. I can smell the smoke of gunpowder and hear the crackle of their musket fire a few city blocks away. I hope they keep us fathers and mothers awake tonight and whisper into the ears of our sleeping children of the lives they gave for the freedom that we seem so ready to trade for a cheap illusion of security.

“They that would give up essential liberty for a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” — Ben Franklin

“Every citizen should be a soldier. This was the case with the Greeks and Romans, and must be that of every free state.” — Thomas Jefferson

I hope those old patriots bother us mightily tonight.