Lately, it seems that I am getting more and more agitated with what our leaders tell us… or dare I comment on rather what they neglect to tell us? Recently, I watched the program 20/20 with John Stossel regarding the bank bailouts. He was shocked that there is no record of how the bailout money was spent. That is equal to no fiscal responsibility.There is no accountability. Check out 20/20 to read more about his interview. Those that have do not want us ‘have nots’ to know anything. I think we are a nation with a very elite government. We should be on our toes now more than ever. It angers me that we are held to higher standards than our Elite Leaders. While the CEO’s of Enron spend our pension money and the commoners are being robbed while they sleep, I suspect a revolt is near. We are held accountable and they are not. Is this the government we all wanted?
                     Thomas Paine was the man whose pamphlet “Common Sense” fueled the anger which started the Revolutionary War. For anyone who has never read it, I highly recommend the book. It is not lengthy, to the point, and gives excellent reasons why it is our responsibility to not let our government oppress us. It is a fascinating piece of written work which can be applied to today’s problems in America as well as the problems we had during the Birth of our Nation. There are a few religious references but the text is a worthy piece of literature; food for thought.
                         I particularly enjoyed this passage. To give you some background history, many seaside towns were burned by the British. Perhaps the most devastation came to Falmouth which is now the Peninsula and part of Munjoy Hill in Portland, Maine. Approximately 500 families were left homeless close to winter, and refused to give up their arms which would have left them totally defenseless. Paine writes, “Hath your house been burnt? Hath your property been destroyed before your face? Are your wife and children destitute of a bed to lie on, or bread to live on? Have you lost a parent or child by their hands and yourself the ruined and wretched survivor? If you have not, then you are not a judge of those who have. But if you have and can still shake hands with the murderers, then you are unworthy the name of husband, father, friend or lover or what ever may be your rank or title in life, you have the heart of a coward and the spirit of a sycophant.”
                     Paine concludes his piece by writing, “We ought to reflect that there are three different ways by which an independency may hereafter be effected; and that one of those three, will one day or other be the fate of America, viz. By the legal voice of the people in Congress; by military power; or by a mob; It may not always happen that our soldiers are citizens, and the multitude a body of reasonable men; virtue, as I have already remarked, is not hereditary, neither is it perpetual. Should an independency be brought about by the first of those means, we have every opportunity and every encouragement before us, to form the noblest, purest constitution on the face of the earth. We have it in our power to begin the world over again. “
                     In the final chapter, Paine addresses the Quakers, who are supporters of the King.  Paine wrote about the belief of not bearing arms, held by the Quakers. When the enemy also bears arms, why would the people wish to be defenseless? This leads to the final reason for the importance of the right to bear arms. The people have a right to protect themselves from a tyrannical government. I was inspired by Thomas Paine’s ‘Common Sense’. I believe our forefathers would be shocked by the ambiguous interpretations of their early plans for our nation. I think the government we so fiercely chose to separate from 235 years ago is not far removed from the government we have in place today. I believe we are oppressed with high tax burdens amongst other things.
                     On a different topic, having read the December 24th issue of the Portland Forecaster, I found an article which I felt was brilliant. It was written by J. Dwight, economist and professional business analyst. The article entitled, “The biggest con job in the history of man” was written about the myth that we are responsible for global warming. I raise my glass to this man because global warming is a topic which raises eyebrows no matter where you go. I commend him for standing alone in a sea of global warming zealots who are already at their computers typing nasty responses. I only wish he had tackled Al Gore winning the Nobel Peace Prize. I agree with everything he wrote. There is a lot of money to be had in the fundraising business.
                     When I recently purchased a Dell laptop, I bought top of the line. I considered the Dell Red, which sends some of its proceeds to fight Aids in Africa. I decided that I would not buy it because I am sick of having all this social responsibility being shoved down my throat. My goodness, I can’t even buy a frozen bag of peas without the pink breast cancer ribbon showing that pennies went to fund the research. Why are the commoners always the ones who pay, pay, and pay? Ask yourself, is this not Oppression? Who else can we bail out next? Maybe some of our auto industry will be competing soon to sell our cars in China and India. Perhaps some of this bailout money is being used to support that. 
                     I hope good things happen soon in America. Our people are beaten down. For those who wonder why history is important, I hope I have raised some awareness today. It is always important to know what your people have fought for in their struggle for a better life. The best of the New Year to all of you.