They can HAVE my freedom

[Mythsaje]

when they pry it from my dead, cold hands.

:evilgrin:

As Patrick Henry said: "Give me liberty or give me death!"

They taught us that line in school! They taught us about Paul Revere and John Hancock, and George Washington and his brave soldiers at Valley Forge. In the snow. In their bare feet. Both ways!

In the spirit of Paul Revere, I call out the warning, "The British are coming!"

Or, at least, the left-over imperialism of the British Empire, thrust into the early part of the 21st Century by way of the of the would-be aristocrats of the United States.

By the People, For the People, and Of the People.

They taught us that.

Not "by (some) of the People, for (some) of the People, and Of (some) of the people.

Call me a terrorist. Call me a traitor.

Fuck you. (Pardon my freedom).

I'm an American. Raised on liberty. I suckled on freedom with my mother's milk. I tasted American liberty, and the promise of the American Dream, with my cereal in the morning when I was very little. I was taught about the words of our founding fathers; of Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and, yes, Patrick Henry, in my earliest days of schooling.

This country forged me, and taught me what freedom means. That's why I'm a liberal. I believe in America, and I believe in Americans. Because WE THE PEOPLE own this country, and ourselves. Not McDonnel Douglas, not Microsoft, not Halliburton, not Walmart.

WE THE FUCKING PEOPLE! (Pardon my freedom).

All you would-be aristocrats should remember this. YOU do not own this country. WE DO. And there's a reason America is called the sleeping giant. It's not just because of your wealth and influence. It's because NO ONE fucks with Americans. We know what freedom is. And we WILL remember when the chips are down.

We rose up like a mighty hammer and smacked down the Third Reich. Don't forget.

And we'll do the same to the Fourth.

Bank on it.

POWER TO THE PEOPLE!

[opiate69]

1. fuckin' A...

recommended

[Kenergy]

2. I couldn't have said it better :-)

The Spirit of '76 is still alive

[Homer Wells]

3. AMEN, Brother

K&R

:kick:

[Codeblue]

4. Speaking of Jefferson...

I enjoy the fact that with all this education on Jefferson and the Founding Fathers, there's always an important part of Jefferson everyone misses...

Jefferson was in favor of revolutions taking place every 20 years just to keep the government honest and on its toes. Obviously, things didn't work out that way, but that doesn't mean it has to stay that way. 200+ years...there are a lot of missed revolutions....

[Mythsaje]

5. Oh, I know...

Tommy Jeff was a radical. Plain and simple.

I DO think things need to be shook up now and then. Assumptions examined and important new alignments formed. A revolution of THOUGHT, not necessarily one of guns and dying.

[Codeblue]

16. Well...

A revolution of SOMETHING. I never specified which type of revolution...

[Mythsaje]

17. I noticed that..

But did Jefferson?

[Codeblue]

21. I don't think so...

I don't recall him saying exactly which type of revolution he'd prefer. I'm sure he MEANT a certain kind, but he never specified to my knowledge.

[YOY]

6. Love it Mythsaje

Damn straight! For once the patriotic 'pitbull that is inside me' (to quote Bad Religion) is getting pissed and I like it.

[NanceGreggs]

7. Bank on it!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tea + toss + harbor = :patriot:


:kick: :kick: :kick:

[Mnemosyne]

8. Proud to be 5th.

by the Corporations, for the Corporations and of the Corporations.

"Call me a terrorist. Call me a traitor." Count me in Myth! :raisesandshakeshand:

And we have seen the whites of their eyes! (my great-g-g-g? grandfather :) )

FIRE!

POWER with CLARITY TO THE PEOPLE!

You got it Myth!

[Subdivisions]

9. Love it, however,

I hate to burst your bubble, but your liberty is being subverted from within by an extremely corrupt administration hell bent on seeing their agenda through whether it takes the lives of 60 women and children in Qana or not.

[Mythsaje]

10. Welcome to DU...

And, yeah, I'm aware of that.

That's kinda the point.

[newyawker99]

18. Hi Texas Explorer!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[bonito]

11. Kick! n/t

[originalpckelly]

12. They could probably pull this shit in any other country...

but in America, well, there will always be some of us who aren't completely fucked in the head. Right now I am smiling, because I know we are on the right side of history.


The full excerpt:
Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!
--Pat Henry, 1775

[originalpckelly]

13. Oh and K & R'ed

[Ms. Clio]

14. fanfuckingtastic

pardon my freedom.

:D

[OneBlueSky]

15. the Democratic Party badly needs to become a populist party . . .

because the alternative -- what we have now -- is corporatism . . . otherwise known as fascism . . .

[originalpckelly]

22. You that is actually where the term Democrat comes from...

the original usage was not to refer to democracy, but to refer to the people. It was Democrat vs. Aristocrat.

[yellerpup]

19. K&R!

Gorgeous rant. P.S., it's OUR fuckin' military, too, so stop wasting them!

[Maraya1969]

20. Most excellent! Bravo!

:applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause:

[tinfoil tiaras]

23. K&R

:)

[kdpeters]

24. "Under a government which imprisons any unjustly, ...

"Under a government which imprisons any unjustly, the true place for a just man is also a prison."

Henry David Thoreau, "Resistance to Civil Government"

I don't have the strength of my heroes, but through their guidance, I'm closer than I was.

[Harry Monroe]

25. A few quotes from Jefferson...

“History furnishes no example of priest ridden people maintaining a free civil government. This marks the lowest grade of ignorance of which their civil as well as religious leaders will always avail themselves for their own purposes”
Thomas Jefferson

“A little patience, and we shall see the reign of witches pass over, their spells dissolve, and the people, recovering their true sight, restore their government to its true principles. It is true that in the meantime we are suffering deeply in spirit, and incurring the horrors of a war and long oppressions of enormous public debt. But if the game runs sometimes against us at home, we must have patience till luck turns, and then we shall have an opportunity of winning back the principles we have lost, for this is a game where principles are at stake”
Thomas Jefferson, June 4, 1798, in a letter to John Taylor after the passage of the Alien and Sedition Acts