“Trust no man living with power to endanger the public liberty”

My fellow Americans,

I have written in an earlier post about the need to be sure about someone when they call themselves a ‘patriot’.

It is much more powerful when someone is called a patriot by someone else, rather than making the claim by themselves. This is because you cannot ever know what is truely at the core belief system of someone else; only God can know that for sure. But we can see what someone is made of by what they do, their actions, and not just their words alone; the old ‘walk the talk’ proverb.

I have seen already in these early days of the 912 project, so many good people who truly care about their communities and their country. The tea parties that were held throughout the country show that there is a groundswell of grass-roots interest in what this government, at all levels both state and nationally, is doing.

But there is a dark side to everything, part of the balance in nature, that we should be aware of too. And that darkside is that sometimes this:

Good-natured people, who start with good intentions, also turn toward that dark side.

Sometimes, some of these good intentioned people fall prey to the lure of power. For others, it is fame, or fortune. Still others do not even realize it is happening, until someone steps forward and tells them about it. Sometimes, they listen. Sometimes they do not. It really does not matter which of these are manifest, for they are all detrimental to the pursuit of liberty. Abraham Lincoln fought for liberty, for all people, and John Adams wrote:

“Trust no man living with power to endanger the public liberty”.

We see this in various groups forming throught the country. Organizers set agendas. Organizers delay elections, both at the national level and the local level. This is most usually a tactic used to consolidate their power.

In the process, they endanger public liberty; the very thing that they originally had claimed to be fighting for. And in doing so, it systematically endangers the local movements and the national movements, because sooner or later, the people will learn about these tactics, and become disinfranchised; they become confused about what is going on in the larger group, and they start to feel like it is no different than what they were originally working to presumably fight against.

Our leaders, whether they be in elected pubilic office, or in local grass-roots organizations, should be questioned every step of the way. The group is of the people, not the organizers.

The people decide, not a gang of 4, a gaggle of 2, or just a few self-appointed birds flying on their own.

Liberty is a commodity that should not be watered down, it must be fought for, it must be preserved at all costs. What got us into this mess in Washington is that we let it happen. I choose to fight against it now.

-Paul

A gift to America: a roadmap to unity

My fellow Americans,

Making this country better in our boro’s, townships, cities and states, requires us to build unity with one another. But this should not be at the expense of losing one’s own identity, or sacrificing your own principles in the process.

We all have our own skills, we all have our own passions in life, whether it be a job you really like; that you would still do even if you didn’t need the money and you didn’t have bills to pay, or a volunteer activity that is important to you. Deep down inside, deep in our gut, most people want to get along; most people want to feel connected with others; most people want to rally around a set of ideals that go beyond our own interests.

When the founding fathers started to meet together, first in small groups, they spent a lot of time getting to know each other, learning how to trust one another. They focused on finding their own common ground among all of the many, pressing issues of the New World called America. They did not always agree with each other. Delaware was the first to ratify the Constitution of the United States, but did all of the states just jump in to ride the wave, to jump on the bandwagon? They did not. Only through patient, and sometimes heated argument, were they finally able to put aside their differences and work toward the principles and values that they all felt, deep down inside. They put away their own interests, which were many. Keep in mind that the founding fathers generally were all very well educated, they were power-brokers in their own colonies, and many were very wealthy. They were weathy because they worked hard; used their individual skills and passions to become very successful in their chosen fields. By ceding their own power, they gained even more.

But the founding fathers needed a framework, a roadmap to help them build unity in a way that could be used to bring everyone together toward a common goal. The roadmap they used were the principles and values we have so often heard about.

Today, it is no different. Groups are coming together all over this country, the discussion has begun, but they have no framework to channel that energy. There are groups competing for bodies, for number counts; it is hard to sort through the true patriots from the convenient ones. I have some ideas that I will suggest that could help those hardworking idealist Americans come together in unity around a shared purpose. It will be up to America to accept the gift; I simply offer it for the benefit of all who wish to listen because this country is worth giving back to. You’ll hear more about that in the coming days.

-Paul

“I want my country back. — United in purpose, we can do great things” > Paul Rohricht

I want my country back. — United in purpose, we can do great things” >Paul Rohricht.</p

© 2009 Paul Rohricht

When Tyranny is challenged, how do they respond?

My fellow Americans,

19th century French lawyer, politician, and philospher Alexis de Tocqueville wrote his masterpiece Democracy in America in the 1830’s. It’s not an easy read, believe me. But the messages have relevance for this topic. In the context of what I wrote in my last post, it would be good to understand what likely comes next when tyranny is challenged. For when we, like Dorothy, finally pull back that curtain, and see what is actually going on, the tyrannical beast has only a couple of options for response to our discovery. Before I go into that, I want to provide a couple of important points from de Tocqueville. Here’s part of what he wrote:

That power is absolute, minute, regular, provident and mild. It would be like the authority of a parent if, like that authority, its object was to prepare men for manhood; but it seeks, on the contrary, to keep them in perpetual childhood: it is well content that the people should rejoice, provided they think of nothing but rejoicing. For their happiness such a government willingly labors, but it chooses to be the sole agent and the only arbiter of that happiness; it provides for their security, foresees and supplies their necessities, facilitates their pleasures, manages their principal concerns, directs their industry, regulates the descent of property, and subdivides their inheritances: what remains, but to spare them all the care of thinking and all the trouble of living?

If you don’t feel like wading through it, I will give you my cliff notes version:

Those that are tyrannical work very hard, in a systematic way, to slowly eat away at our freedoms.

Let me repeat:

Those that are tyrannical work very hard, in a systematic way, to slowly eat away at our freedoms.

I hope you really think about that. What they do is they create more and more roadblocks to freedom and liberty, and it is important to point out, they view it as completely justified and necessary; the ends justify the means. This is because they believe they are your parent, and we are their children. This directly translates into action, systematically putting in place measures to control you, who you talk to, who you network with, and manages your every move. They believe it is they who should care for you, regulate you, and monitor you.

The ways they accomplish their mission are many, as they now have many tools at their disposal to exert their influence in their ‘children’s’ lives. Think about the parent who takes the keys away from their rebellious child, or takes away the XBox or PlayStation, when the child talks back or challenges their authority. We see this on the internet as well, when so-called ‘Social Networks’ are not really “open”, when the creator of the site has the power to filter your comments, or worse yet, even takes you completely off the site if you don’t conform to what they think you should be writing, or posting, on that site. This is a challenge to the tyrannical authority, and a threat to their power that they crave viscerally.

What I’ve outlined are just some of the creative ways we see the response of tyranny being practiced every day. But if a French guy from the 19th century could see it then, why do we not see it happening today? It is because we are slowly being lulled into la-la land. But now, not everyone is. People are waking up to the reality that is happening right in front of their eyes, if they dare to peek behind the curtain.

So what is the tyrannical authority’s next move? What do they do when they see that the child they attempted to crush through regulation and controls and censorship, does not go away? They attempt to continue to consolidate their base with those who are still asleep, to expand their families (their ‘children’) into a growing web of decit. They grow their networks, and hope that another ‘problem child’ does not rise to the surface, at least not until they hope they will have grown so large, and so powerful, that one or two ‘problem children’ won’t matter to them.

They will talk about all of the great things they are doing, how busy they are, how great they are and mighty they are, their guest talk show radio appearances. But they are really just the wizard who eventually gets caught with his pants down.

Perhaps they try to fight in the legal system, or perhaps they expand their ‘backroom dealmaking’ with other networked ‘parents’ to expand and consolidate their power. And here we see the pay to play system, like Illinois politics, and, like Yogi says-“its de’ja vu all over again”. But we see ahead of these tactics, and we make note of them before they are able to even try as they might, to break us, continuing to bind us in their expanding web of control and censorship.

But there is another response. Perhaps the tyrannical beast has a change of heart. Like the wizard, once caught behind the curtain, he sees there is a chance to come clean, to admit some mistakes along the way. We pray the wicked can be converted back, reborn if you will.

Will we welcome them, or spurn them? If we are truely American patriots, we will welcome them with open arms on the promise they continue to demontrate and practice the principles and values of liberty and freedom that were preordained by God Himself, and embodied in the spirit of the Constitution. We expect honesty, we maintain hope, and we remain humble in the struggle for freedom. We offer an open hand, in sincerity, that together with hard work, we will break the tyranny ahead.

So now, we’ve come full circle, back to our 19th century French friend de Tocqueville. He writes about the incredible spirit of what is singularly ‘American’. He has often been remembered for this answer to the question about what makes America a great country:

“America is great because America is good.”

Yes, my friends, America is great, so long as we continue to fight against tyranny in any form, when we see it.

-Paul

© 2009 Paul Rohricht

What exactly does tyranny look and smell like?

My fellow Americans,

Tyranny can present itself in many forms. It smells, it festers like an infection that begins small, but grows and grows until you finally notice its time to do something about it. If it walks like a duck, it’s a duck. Sometimes you can see it very clearly. But most of the time, it is hidden in the shadows, behind the curtain, and we, like Dorothy, don’t bother to look behind it.

Why don’t we look? We sometimes don’t look because we are afraid that what we may in fact find is that which we don’t want to see. We want to trust. I believe it is basic human nature to want to extend trust without personal gain, without anything in it for ourselves. I am not saying we should stop that approach; I think we should always first give the benefit of the doubt to all we meet. Wouldn’t you want others to give that to you as well?

But once in a while, we feel that infection starting to fester, and we know we need to do something; we need to get it checked out. It is good to just take a peek behind that shadow and behind the curtain. If you see nothing, it may be just your imagination, or you’re having a rough day or busy week. But if you see something, take note, and tell others what you have seen. Others you tell may tell you that “it is not really a big deal”; they may say “it must have been just a technical error”, “everything will be ok, let’s just keep moving on”, or something like this.

But it is our duty, as Americans, to point out tyranny where it exists. We need to tell our families, our friends, our neighbors and we need to confront the tyrants head on. The founding fathers did this, and helped others see the tyranny which called itself the British Empire. Since then, new empires can emerge, except now it is not done with an army, it is done through the internet. But the result is the same: absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Thomas Jefferson wrote this about tyranny: “All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent”.

Where you think there may be tyranny, it probably is. Be sure to keep checking behind that curtain, take a peek from time to time. Stay vigilant, and keep your eyes wide open.

-Paul

Your comments are welcome, please post them here and on my blog-we can all learn from each other, and it may spark other ideas too!

-Paul

tyr⋅an⋅ny   /ˈtɪrəni/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [tir-uh-nee] Show IPA
–noun, plural -nies.
1. arbitrary or unrestrained exercise of power; despotic abuse of authority.
2. the government or rule of a tyrant or absolute ruler.
3. a state ruled by a tyrant or absolute ruler.
4. oppressive or unjustly severe government on the part of any ruler.
5. undue severity or harshness.
6. a tyrannical act or proceeding.

——————————————————————————–
Synonyms:
1. despotism, absolutism, dictatorship.

© 2009 Paul Rohricht

Beware when someone calls themselves a “Patriot”

Fellow Americans,

I have seen first hand the wolf wrapped in sheep’s clothing. When someone says “I am a patriot”, be careful you really know what they mean. For just because someone says they are one does not make them one. Even the smartest can be fooled, even some that we would hold in the highest regard with deserved respect. But in the end, the true patriots are always found, and the wolves exposed for the beasts that they are.

You will hear more from me in the coming days, until then, keep your eyes open.

-Paul

© 2009 Paul Rohricht

9-12 Project: United in Purpose, we can do great things

So the 9-12 project has now officially been started, but much work went in prior to Glenn Beck’s viewing parties. All over the country, people from all walks of life joined together for one pupose: to know they weren’t alone. It was a very important day for everyone involved, and I believe, only the start of what will become a long and at times difficult struggle but one which will activate people as never before. At the very minimum, the result will be more people voting. That in and of itself would be a major shift in this country. But like what occurred prior to the founding of this great country, it will feed upon itself and grow like and infection you like to have. Even in Canada, we have seen they are taking notice of their neighbors to the south. Tina Wells, who blogs from Port Coquitlam, Canada, writes about this here:

http://my.nowpublic.com/culture/912-project-glenn-beck-preaches-9-principles-and-12-values#comment-319400

The experiences of our forefathers and what we are seeing today are few; the struggles they fought for in establishing our country and the principles they fought to uphold are no different today. The difference is that they used guns and determination. We use the internet and determination.

-Paul

http://wesurroundthemusa.ning.com National Site
http://wesurroundthemusa-pa.ning.com Pennsylvania Site

© 2009 Paul Rohricht

We Surround Them-A National Movement with Legs

Every once in a while, there comes along something that energizes people. I have seen, first hand, the power of people who are united in a cause, in something to work toward. The grass roots movement started by Glenn Beck, shows us what a group of people can do together.

I have become involved with this “We Surround Them” campaign which is sweeping the nation like wildfire. If you don’t know what it is, go here: http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/198/21018/?ck=1

You can get involved through the website link above, or here: http://www.wesurroundthemmap.com/

The key here, I believe, is that there is a desire to once again revisit the original intent of our founding fathers, which I have been writing about on this site. I urge you to learn more.

-Paul

© 2009 Paul Rohricht

America’s founding: Divine Providence?

Our founding fathers believed this to be the case, that America was the result of God’s direct hand in the creation of a land of abundance, and a land of freedom for all people. We find examples of this in the Declaration of Independence, in the U.S. Constitution, and in the Federalist Papers, written to convince the citizens of the new world that the Constitution should be ratified.

The idea that America has a special place and a special responsiblity in the world is one that has been echoed by many great leaders in the history of our country. In his influential 1776 pamphlet Common Sense, Thomas Paine echoed this notion, arguing that the American Revolution provided an opportunity to create a new, better society:

“We have it in our power to begin the world over again. A situation, similar to the present, hath not happened since the days of Noah until now. The birthday of a new world is at hand…”

Many Americans agreed with Paine, and came to believe that the United States had embarked upon a special experiment in freedom and democracy—and a rejection of Old World monarchy in favor of republicanism—an innovation of world historical importance. President Abraham Lincoln’s description, in his December 1, 1862 message to Congress, of the United States as “the last, best hope of Earth” is a well-known expression of this idea. Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, in which he interpreted the Civil War as a struggle to determine if any nation with America’s ideals could survive, has been called by historian Robert Johannsen “the most enduring statement of America’s Manifest Destiny and mission” (Haynes, Sam W. and Christopher Morris, eds. Manifest Destiny and Empire: American Antebellum Expansionism. College Station, Texas: Texas A&M University Press, 1997.).

Today, we hear commentators like Glenn Beck speak about the divine providence of America this in the attached video clip. He also talks about the importance of being prepared for the difficult times that lay ahead of us in this country.

My fellow Americans, I feel we should be prepared for the tough times that are ahead of us. And we should take the individual responsiblity to be involved and watchful of what ‘our’ government is doing. God gave the United States great resources, great power, and with that power also comes great responsibility. If we just sit back and allow ‘our’ government to continue to take more and more individual liberties away, if we allow the government more and more control over our lives, and we let that happen, we get what we deserve. If ‘our’ government is really ‘ours’, then we can make it what we want.

-Paul

© 2009 Paul Rohricht

New Federalist Paper Number 2

Chief Justice John Jay, the first Chief Justice of the New United States of America, wrote Federalist Paper Number 2, attempting to persuade New Yorkers to adopt the new Constitution. I have broken down his key messages from this letter that are relevant for what is happening in America today:

• The question of the form of government that the people decide to allow is a question of great importance;

• Everyone agrees that there is a necessity of government, and when we adopt a government, we naturally cede some of our liberties as a result;

• America was not founded on the basis of detached and distant territories, but instead, one connected country that by the gift of God, given many resources for those that live here.

• Also by the gift of God, this one connected country was given to one united people–a people who believed in the same basic principles, and we fought to achieve the goal of general liberty and independence;

• We are one people and each individual citizen everywhere has the opportunity to have the same national rights, privileges, and protection.

• Because of these values, and the blessings we received in this country, we the people chose to form a new federal government whose task was to preserve and perpetuate it.

• In order to undertake this task, a group of men, our founding fathers, without external pressures (from special interest groups, without lobbyists, without the prospect of congressional earmarks), met for many months (“without having been awed by power, or influenced by any passions except love for their country”), they presented and recommended to the people the plan produced by their joint and very unanimous councils (the Constitution of the United States);

• These founding fathers agreed on principles which were in the true interests of the country, they were individually interested in public liberty and prosperity;

• For every succeeding Congress, those entrusted with the preservation of our country, have always represented the wishes of the people for continued prosperity, and that this could only be accomplished by adopting the Constitution and remain one country;

• Every citizen needs to understand that dissolving of the Union, dissolving the United States of America, would mean we would lose our greatness as a country: “FAREWELL! A LONG FAREWELL TO ALL MY GREATNESS.”

My fellow Americans, we are heading down a path where our individual liberties are at risk. Our country is under attack. We, the people, need to pay attention to what is happening. We have been given great gifts in this country, but when I say that liberty is at risk, it means that the future of America rests on our insisting that the representatives we elect preserve and protect those liberties. Mounting debt is just one example. But as I have written on previous points, lobbyists, and the earmark game in Congress must end. Our founding fathers wrote the Constitution without those pressures; their goals were pure in working to preserve those liberties. If we stay asleep, we will lose this great country.

-Paul

© 2009 Paul Rohricht

Here is the original letter of Chief Justice John Jay:

To the People of the State of New York:

WHEN the people of America reflect that they are now called upon to decide a question, which, in its consequences, must prove one of the most important that ever engaged their attention, the propriety of their taking a very comprehensive, as well as a very serious, view of it, will be evident.

Nothing is more certain than the indispensable necessity of government, and it is equally undeniable, that whenever and however it is instituted, the people must cede to it some of their natural rights in order to vest it with requisite powers. It is well worthy of consideration therefore, whether it would conduce more to the interest of the people of America that they should, to all general purposes, be one nation, under one federal government, or that they should divide themselves into separate confederacies, and give to the head of each the same kind of powers which they are advised to place in one national government.

It has until lately been a received and uncontradicted opinion that the prosperity of the people of America depended on their continuing firmly united, and the wishes, prayers, and efforts of our best and wisest citizens have been constantly directed to that object. But politicians now appear, who insist that this opinion is erroneous, and that instead of looking for safety and happiness in union, we ought to seek it in a division of the States into distinct confederacies or sovereignties. However extraordinary this new doctrine may appear, it nevertheless has its advocates; and certain characters who were much opposed to it formerly, are at present of the number. Whatever may be the arguments or inducements which have wrought this change in the sentiments and declarations of these gentlemen, it certainly would not be wise in the people at large to adopt these new political tenets without being fully convinced that they are founded in truth and sound policy.

It has often given me pleasure to observe that independent America was not composed of detached and distant territories, but that one connected, fertile, widespreading country was the portion of our western sons of liberty. Providence has in a particular manner blessed it with a variety of soils and productions, and watered it with innumerable streams, for the delight and accommodation of its inhabitants. A succession of navigable waters forms a kind of chain round its borders, as if to bind it together; while the most noble rivers in the world, running at convenient distances, present them with highways for the easy communication of friendly aids, and the mutual transportation and exchange of their various commodities.

With equal pleasure I have as often taken notice that Providence has been pleased to give this one connected country to one united people–a people descended from the same ancestors, speaking the same language, professing the same religion, attached to the same principles of government, very similar in their manners and customs, and who, by their joint counsels, arms, and efforts, fighting side by side throughout a long and bloody war, have nobly established general liberty and independence.

This country and this people seem to have been made for each other, and it appears as if it was the design of Providence, that an inheritance so proper and convenient for a band of brethren, united to each other by the strongest ties, should never be split into a number of unsocial, jealous, and alien sovereignties.

Similar sentiments have hitherto prevailed among all orders and denominations of men among us. To all general purposes we have uniformly been one people each individual citizen everywhere enjoying the same national rights, privileges, and protection. As a nation we have made peace and war; as a nation we have vanquished our common enemies; as a nation we have formed alliances, and made treaties, and entered into various compacts and conventions with foreign states.

A strong sense of the value and blessings of union induced the people, at a very early period, to institute a federal government to preserve and perpetuate it. They formed it almost as soon as they had a political existence; nay, at a time when their habitations were in flames, when many of their citizens were bleeding, and when the progress of hostility and desolation left little room for those calm and mature inquiries and reflections which must ever precede the formation of a wise and wellbalanced government for a free people. It is not to be wondered at, that a government instituted in times so inauspicious, should on experiment be found greatly deficient and inadequate to the purpose it was intended to answer.

This intelligent people perceived and regretted these defects. Still continuing no less attached to union than enamored of liberty, they observed the danger which immediately threatened the former and more remotely the latter; and being pursuaded that ample security for both could only be found in a national government more wisely framed, they as with one voice, convened the late convention at Philadelphia, to take that important subject under consideration.

This convention composed of men who possessed the confidence of the people, and many of whom had become highly distinguished by their patriotism, virtue and wisdom, in times which tried the minds and hearts of men, undertook the arduous task. In the mild season of peace, with minds unoccupied by other subjects, they passed many months in cool, uninterrupted, and daily consultation; and finally, without having been awed by power, or influenced by any passions except love for their country, they presented and recommended to the people the plan produced by their joint and very unanimous councils.

Admit, for so is the fact, that this plan is only RECOMMENDED, not imposed, yet let it be remembered that it is neither recommended to BLIND approbation, nor to BLIND reprobation; but to that sedate and candid consideration which the magnitude and importance of the subject demand, and which it certainly ought to receive. But this (as was remarked in the foregoing number of this paper) is more to be wished than expected, that it may be so considered and examined. Experience on a former occasion teaches us not to be too sanguine in such hopes. It is not yet forgotten that well-grounded apprehensions of imminent danger induced the people of America to form the memorable Congress of 1774. That body recommended certain measures to their constituents, and the event proved their wisdom; yet it is fresh in our memories how soon the press began to teem with pamphlets and weekly papers against those very measures. Not only many of the officers of government, who obeyed the dictates of personal interest, but others, from a mistaken estimate of consequences, or the undue influence of former attachments, or whose ambition aimed at objects which did not correspond with the public good, were indefatigable in their efforts to pursuade the people to reject the advice of that patriotic Congress. Many, indeed, were deceived and deluded, but the great majority of the people reasoned and decided judiciously; and happy they are in reflecting that they did so.

They considered that the Congress was composed of many wise and experienced men. That, being convened from different parts of the country, they brought with them and communicated to each other a variety of useful information. That, in the course of the time they passed together in inquiring into and discussing the true interests of their country, they must have acquired very accurate knowledge on that head. That they were individually interested in the public liberty and prosperity, and therefore that it was not less their inclination than their duty to recommend only such measures as, after the most mature deliberation, they really thought prudent and advisable.

These and similar considerations then induced the people to rely greatly on the judgment and integrity of the Congress; and they took their advice, notwithstanding the various arts and endeavors used to deter them from it. But if the people at large had reason to confide in the men of that Congress, few of whom had been fully tried or generally known, still greater reason have they now to respect the judgment and advice of the convention, for it is well known that some of the most distinguished members of that Congress, who have been since tried and justly approved for patriotism and abilities, and who have grown old in acquiring political information, were also members of this convention, and carried into it their accumulated knowledge and experience.

It is worthy of remark that not only the first, but every succeeding Congress, as well as the late convention, have invariably joined with the people in thinking that the prosperity of America depended on its Union. To preserve and perpetuate it was the great object of the people in forming that convention, and it is also the great object of the plan which the convention has advised them to adopt. With what propriety, therefore, or for what good purposes, are attempts at this particular period made by some men to depreciate the importance of the Union? Or why is it suggested that three or four confederacies would be better than one? I am persuaded in my own mind that the people have always thought right on this subject, and that their universal and uniform attachment to the cause of the Union rests on great and weighty reasons, which I shall endeavor to develop and explain in some ensuing papers. They who promote the idea of substituting a number of distinct confederacies in the room of the plan of the convention, seem clearly to foresee that the rejection of it would put the continuance of the Union in the utmost jeopardy. That certainly would be the case, and I sincerely wish that it may be as clearly foreseen by every good citizen, that whenever the dissolution of the Union arrives, America will have reason to exclaim, in the words of the poet: “FAREWELL! A LONG FAREWELL TO ALL MY GREATNESS.”
PUBLIUS.