My most sincere thanks to Camp Weathervane!

[hootinholler]

The recent use of unicorns in describing the desires of BernieBros got me to googling unicorns.

I really appreciate the prompting, because it led me to an essay Called The Lion and The Unicorn written by none other than George Orwell whilst German bombs rained upon London.

It explores Socialism, Capitalism, Fascism and the stratification of society while presenting the argument that it can only be fixed by a political revolution. I saw more than a few parallels to our current struggles, our own revolution.

It bade me to question if we have yet reached our own tipping point in America and left me hopeful that we have.

So sincerely, thanks for the serendipity.

[corkhead]

1. I remember reading that years ago. Thanks for reminding me of it so I can read it again

[daleanime]

2. Damn, every cloud....

does have a silver lining.

Definitely worth a re-read.

[99th_Monkey]

3. K&R nt

[jwirr]

4. K&R

[ypsfonos]

5. A little History

Origins of "The lion and the unicorn" in British history
The Lion and the Unicorn lyrics date from 1603 when King James VI of Scotland became James I of England unifying the Scottish and English kingdoms. The 'Virgin Queen' Elizabeth 1 named the son of Mary Queen of Scots, James, as her heir. The union of the two countries required a new royal coat of arms combining those of England which featured two lions, and Scotland whose coat of arms featured two Unicorns hence "The lion and the unicorn". A compromise was made thus the British coat of arms has one Lion and one Unicorn and the poem about hence "The Lion and the Unicorn" was created.




The picture depicts the Lion (with the crown) and the Unicorn Coat of Arms. The centre of the Arms depicts the lions of England in the first and fourth quarters, the lion of Scotland in the second and the Harp of Ireland in the third quarter. The motto around the centre means: "Evil to him who evil thinks" which relates to the Order of the Garter. The motto at the bottom means: "God and my Right "




The Lion and the Unicorn poem

The lion and the unicorn were fighting for the crown
The lion beat the unicorn all around the town.
Some gave them white bread, and some gave them brown;
Some gave them plum cake and drummed them out of town.

[dixiegrrrrl]

13. Thank you for that bit of history!

Always glad to learn stuff like this....

[Fawke Em]

19. Isn't that, essentially, the Canadian Coat of Arms?

Guess that country doesn't exist and their universal health care is a myth.

[Paulie]

21. Canada being a relatively new country as well as a member of the Commonwealth

Of nations, as a Comkonwealth Realm has their head the Monarchy of the United Kingdom. Which explains the coat of arms being a descendent of the U.K. Coat of arms.

There is a reason Queen Elizabeth II is on the money.

[merrily]

26. The USA is also a relatively new nation and a descendant of Great Britain, now the UK, albeit a

rebellious offspring.

The photo below is of the State House of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, home of Plymouth Rock, where the Mayflower landed, Samuel Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Paul Revere, and others, as well as being my adopted home.

It is also the home of the American Revolution that gave birth to this country, after the British had occupied Boston for two years.

On July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was read from the balcony of this State House. The first battle took place at Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts. (Sarah Palin thought it was Concord, NH, but, surprise, surprise, she was mistaken.)

Lion on the left of the photo, unicorn on the right.

[Thespian2]

6. Thanks...

Democrats need to read Orwell...again, in my case...and come to understand that socialism is perhaps the best way to organize government for the people, by the people...

[chervilant]

8. Which richly explains

why capitalists have worked so long and hard to vilify socialism (pun intended).

[bvar22]

23. My first impulse was to say that Republicans need to read it,

but they would probably think it was an instruction book.

[Thespian2]

24. I agree...

but Repugs don't like the effort involved in reading and understanding...especially far-left documents like the US Constitution...

[merrily]

27. I don't know how far left the US Constitution was when written. The people demanded, and got, a Bill

of Rights, though. I suspect they got it, and got it so quickly, only because they had just fought and won a revolution against tyrants.

President-elected by electors

Senate -elected by state legislatures

House - elected by the people---and therefore given less power than the Senate.

At the time of ratification, only about 6% of the people were entitled to vote--and only if they could afford to pay a poll tax.

[Thespian2]

38. Good info...

Thanks, merrily...

[merrily]

39. You're welcome. The good news is that we, the people, kept pushing the plutocrats

until we changed many of those things.

The bad news is that, while we were doing that, mega corporations, costly political TV and radio ads and lobbyists became very important and, as a matter of reality, the Constitution has become almost impossible to amend.

[passiveporcupine]

31. From the Orwell essay

The liberty of the individual is still believed in, almost as in the nineteenth century. But this has nothing to do with economic liberty, the right to exploit others for profit.

Somewhere the US got lost.

[retrowire]

7. Awesome a good read! Thank you! nt

[SoapBox]

9. The more they try to push us back...

The more we will fight.

I think the tipping point has been reached.

[Duval]

10. I think we may have reached the tipping point. I see thousands attending

Bernie's speeches, people of all ages and people of color. His message is resonating with the people.

Thanks for the essay!

[Zorra]

11. They told us our desire to legalize same sex marriage was wanting ponies and unicorns.

I really love my pretty new gay marriage unicorn that I got last year.

[hootinholler]

12. I don't think they realize

That Bernie's career epitomizes the primal spirit woven into the unicorn legend.

Hell yes we want a unicorn! That rarest of creatures great and small.

Metaphorically speaking, that Bernie is our unicorn properly fits the narrative.

[merrily]

28. Congratulations, Zorra. I did not realize you were a newlywed. Wishing you and your wife many

wonderful things.

[rpannier]

30. Everything that is not corporate supported is derided as

wanting unicorns and ponies and puppies

[OxQQme]

14. I also read a book from the wayback by Sinclair Lewis

"It Can't Happen Here"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It_Can%27t_Happen_Here

<It Can't Happen Here is a semi-satirical 1935 political novel by American author Sinclair Lewis. Published during the rise of fascism in Europe, the novel describes the rise of Berzelius "Buzz" Windrip, a populist United States Senator who is elected to the presidency after promising drastic economic and social reforms while promoting a return to patriotism and traditional values. After his election, Windrip takes complete control of the government and imposes a plutocratic/totalitarian rule with the help of a ruthless paramilitary force, in the manner of Adolf Hitler and the SS. The novel's plot centers on journalist Doremus Jessup's opposition to the new regime and his subsequent struggle against it as part of a liberal rebellion. Reviewers at the time, and literary critics ever since, have emphasized the connection with Louisiana politician Huey Long,[1] who was preparing to run for president in the 1936 election when he was assassinated in 1935 just prior to the novel's publication.>

In today's world any of the Rebulicants could be Buzz Windrip.
Frightening to think of that happening.

[ananda]

15. "All the papers that matter live off their advertisements,

All the papers that matter live off their advertisements, and the advertisers exercise an indirect censorship over news."

------------

Except nowadays it is direct and egregious.

[cherokeeprogressive]

16. That's so bitchin'. Thanks for sharing and I look forward to reading it.

[rhett o rick]

17. If reducing poverty in America is a unicorn, then I want one.

They try to rationalize not helping the 99% by telling us to be pragmatic. "Pragmatism: The Justification to Ignore What's Happening to Those Less Fortunate" http://www.democraticunderground.com/12511090531

[ucrdem]

18. We had our revolution 240 years ago and Britain is still a monarchy.

Mr. Orwell like Senator Sanders appears to be pining for something that already happened.

[Fawke Em]

20. And Jefferson said we should revisit a revolution every 20 years.

The British ministry have so long hired their gazetteers to repeat and model into every form lies about our being in anarchy, that the world has at length believed them, the English nation has believed them, the ministers themselves have come to believe them, and what is more wonderful, we have believed them ourselves.

Yet where does this anarchy exist? Where did it ever exist, except in the single instance of Massachusets? And can history produce an instance of a rebellion so honourably conducted? I say nothing of it's motives. They were founded in ignorance, not wickedness.

God forbid we should ever be 20 years without such a rebellion. The people can not be all, and always, well informed. The part which is wrong will be discontented in proportion to the importance of the facts they misconceive. If they remain quiet under such misconceptions it is a lethargy, the forerunner of death to the public liberty. We have had 13 states independent 11 years. There has been one rebellion. That comes to one rebellion in a century and a half for each state. What country ever existed a century and a half without a rebellion? And what country can preserve it's liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance?

We tend to do it every 80 years, instead.

[merrily]

29. Our first revolution was violent. Let's hope our next is not.

[SMC22307]

22. "No politician could rise to power by promising them conquests or military ‘glory’,

no Hymn of Hate has ever made any appeal to them."

Wow. Which political party does that *not* sound like?

That's some dense reading. Taking a break for This Old House, then back to it. Thanks for posting!

[merrily]

32. Sounds like a good chunk of both of the largest political parties in the US.

Also like Attila the Hun.

[Blus4u]

25. Great post!

K&R


Peace

[Attorney in Texas]

33. If Camp Weathervane didn't smugly define expectations as "inevitable," we couldn't defy expectations

[deutsey]

34. Thanks for the tip!

I don't think I was aware of this writing of his.

[paleotn]

35. +1000

....one of Orwell's best, in my humble opinion.

[Goblinmonger]

36. Jury results

FWIW, I was 5.

On Sat Jan 30, 2016, 02:14 PM an alert was sent on the following post:

My most sincere thanks to Camp Weathervane!
http://www.democraticunderground.com/12511096760

REASON FOR ALERT

This post is disruptive, hurtful, rude, insensitive, over-the-top, or otherwise inappropriate.

ALERTER'S COMMENTS

Disruptive meta and one of the OP's far too frequent insults of other Democrats as "camp weathervane."

You served on a randomly-selected Jury of DU members which reviewed this post. The review was completed at Sat Jan 30, 2016, 02:23 PM, and the Jury voted 3-4 to LEAVE IT.

Juror #1 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #2 voted to HIDE IT
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #3 voted to HIDE IT
Explanation: My first impulse was to vote to leave it, but after thinking a bit more, am voting to hide. The camp weathervane label, is both inaccurate and childish, and does nothing to further discussion. We can, and should, be better than this.
Juror #4 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: Weeping Jaysus. What a lame Alert. Seriously? Probably one of the most literate of postings on DU at any one time its been around. Seriously.
Juror #5 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: Nice try, but, no.
Juror #6 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #7 voted to HIDE IT
Explanation: No explanation given

Thank you very much for participating in our Jury system, and we hope you will be able to participate again in the future.

[hootinholler]

37. "frequent insults of other Democrats"

An assumption not in evidence is that I believe that Camp Weathervane to consist of Democrats.

Thanks for the results, I was wondering if it had been alerted on. Juror #4: Thank you for the kind words.

[stonecutter357]

40. sorry your man lost last night.