July 4 1776 - 2010

I haven't written on this blog for several months simply because I've been so stunned and fearful of the increasing frenzy of socialism mounting across our country. I am stunned because I simply cannot imagine why anyone would want to "fundamentally change" a country and a government so amazingly well crafted, well intentioned and beautifully executed. I, in what I can only assume is naiveté, have always been contentedly in love with this country, with its grandeur, its history, its people, and its founding documents. An insidious movement has long been underway to usurp the intent of those documents and of our government, and as this movement nears its goals, its motives are becoming blatantly obvious: to change our government from a republic to a socialist state. It stuns me that I, like so many others, haven't seen it coming. I, like so many others, have always voted and trusted those for whom I've voted to do their job, which meant they would do what I would do if our positions were reversed; they would work diligently and honestly to preserve the essence and intent of the Constitution to the best of their ability. How foolish was I! How trusting! Isn't it interesting that I, who have had an intense distrust of individuals in my life, was perfectly and blithely willing to trust an elected official to whom I, by my vote, had just given the keys to the kingdom?! Amazing! I confess myself amazed, stunned, and, not in the least, disappointed both in them and in myself.

Knowing that there are a very small group of extremely powerful people in the world who control virtually every damned thing that is happening somehow makes me feel better. At last, the understanding, the full comprehension that only a handful of people are pulling the strings and manipulating the economies of the world, as well as the political puppets everywhere gives me hope - real hope, not the fancy kind promised easily by our president. Why does this understanding comfort me, you may ask? Simple: there are more of us than there are of them. If we work together, calmly, methodically, but quickly, with truth and knowledge to guide us, we can turn this baby around and get it back on course. It will take a great effort from a great many people, but one of the beautiful things that has developed over the past year or so is that We, the People, have awoken and are now standing, stretching and preparing to say, "No."

At this time of year, I republish a poem I memorized when I was a little girl. It is time to remember the urgency and necessity behind the meetings in Philadelphia over 230 years ago. Now is the time for us to rediscover the clarity of purpose and willingness to stand together, regardless of race, gender, or politics, that drove our Founding Fathers - and Mothers! - to work so diligently for our freedom. Now is the time for us to educate ourselves, our families, our friends and to join together to reclaim our government, our heritage, and our country. When I read this poem, I can feel it, the people's hearts and minds solidifying into the soul of a nation, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. This poem marks the beginning of our history. Now we must work, fight and pray that this, our time in history, does not mark its end.

Independence Bell – July 4, 1776

Author Unknown

There was a tumult in the city
In the quaint old Quaker town,
And the streets were rife with people
Pacing restless up and down–
People gathering at corners,
Where they whispered each to each,
And the sweat stood on their temples
With the earnestness of speech.

As the bleak Atlantic currents
Lash the wild Newfoundland shore,
So they beat against the State House,
So they surged against the door;
And the mingling of their voices
Made the harmony profound,
'Til the quiet street of Chestnut
Was all turbulent with sound.

“Will they do it?” “Dare they do it?”
“Who is speaking?” “What’s the news?”
“What of Adams?” “What of Sherman?”
“Oh, God grant they won’t refuse!”
“Make some way there!” “Let me nearer!”
“I am stifling!” “Stifle then!
When a nation’s life’s at hazard,
We’ve no time to think of men!”

So they surged against the State House,
While all solemnly inside,
Sat the Continental Congress,
Truth and reason for their guide,
Over a simple scroll debating,
Which, though simple it might be,
Yet should shake the cliffs of England
With the thunders of the free.

Far aloft in that high steeple
Sat the bellman, old and gray,
He was weary of the tyrant
And his iron-sceptered sway;
So he sat, with one hand ready
On the clapper of the bell,
When his eye could catch the signal,
The long-expected news to tell.

See! See! The dense crowd quivers
Through all its lengthy line,
As the boy beside the portal
Hastens forth to give the sign!
With his little hands uplifted,
Breezes dallying with his hair,
Hark! with deep, clear intonation,
Breaks his young voice on the air.

Hushed the people’s swelling murmur,
Whilst the boy crys joyously;
“Ring!” he shouts, “Ring! Grandpapa,
Ring! oh, ring for Liberty!”
Quickly, at the given signal
The old bellman lifts his hand,
Forth he sends the goods news, making
Iron music through the land.

How they shouted! What rejoicing!
How the old bell shook the air,
'Til the clang of freedom ruffled,
The calmly gliding Delaware!
How the bonfires and the torches
Lighted up the night's repose,
And from the flames, like fabled Phoenix,
Our glorious liberty arose!

That old State House bell is silent,
Hushed is now its clamorous tongue;
But the spirit it awakened
Still is living—ever young;
And when we greet the smiling sunlight
On the fourth of each July,
We will ne'er forget the bellman
Who, betwixt the earth and sky,
Rung out, loudly, “Independence!”
Which, please God, shall never die!