Mark Twain Wasn"t French
I love the French People.
I love Brie and goat cheese, and crepes, and half rotted, tender beef.
I love Paris, Marseilles, Bordeaux, and the French Riviera.
Of all things French I probably love French Unity when it comes to being lazy.
I love the 35 hour work week, the endless lunch breaks that last nearly two hours and about half that if you procure a quick lunch from a street vendor.
While they will definitely have to make a change if they are to survive economically, you can't help but respect the way they come together for a cause.
France's President Nicolas Sarkozy sees that a change is needed and is trying desperately to implement those changes.
But, my lord, do those French dig the soles of their feet in for a cause.
Proceeding from that thought, one has to ask, "What happened to the United States of America?" Weren't we the ultimate rebels at one time? From tea in BostonHarbor in the face of a tyrannical monarchy to the labor strikes of the 1970's, we just didn't put up with injustice and forced servitude.
What happened, America? Did we just get too comfortable? Were the rewards of a new car every three or four years, an endless supply of a variety of beer, wines, spirits coupled with mind numbing amounts of televised sports do something to our thought process? Have we become reluctant to voice an opinion that might disrupt our part of the world? Is everything fine as long as we have a roof and a television? Our children are now taught in a "politically correct" manner.
Let's face it, it's not important how well you do in any given field of study as long as you felt good about it.
We now impose our Constitution on other countries.
Even make war to prove that it's vastly superior to anything else in existence.
I say, "Why not?" Let's face it, we don't use it anymore, we might as well rent it out.
Over the past forty-five to fifty years, there seems to have been a growing contempt, yes, even a loathing of the United States Constitution and the limits it places on government.
So much so that ways of circumventing, even suspending the edicts of our nation's Founding Fathers is common place within the halls of government.
Enter the Patriot Act.
What if, despite the fact that we have been taught to despise the French, we embraced the idea of "shutdown"? I sometimes believe that we as citizens of the U.
S.
A.
have forgotten how powerful we are as a group.
Taking a lesson from the French and even Austria, what if we protested unpopular laws by simply shutting the country and its commerce down until changes were made? Much the same way the RICO Statutes hit at the heart of organized crime by relieving the criminal element of property, money, and the items needed to further a criminal enterprise, what if we imposed our own version of RICO upon the decision makers of our government? What if we told our political crime families, you know, the Republicans and the Democrats that we're taking away their ability to further the criminal organization of the Federal Reserve, the Internal Revenue Service, the Patriot Act and even the ridiculous double standard in law enjoyed by members of Congress, for a twenty four hour period? That means no trains, no trucks, no ships, no dockworkers, no fuel, and no commerce of any kind for one complete business day? Then what if we actually could garner nationwide support for this action and then DID IT? After twenty-four hours they would have thirty days to comply.
That means changing laws, becoming accountable and actually working for us as was meant to be in the first place.
If nothing is done, we'll go out for a week, then ten days.
What if we continued until the folks in their Washington hotels and dormitories finally came to realize that we, the people who elected them, are in charge of this country and its future? Now some may say I'm unpatriotic.
Since I'm not with you I must be against you, and liberty, and freedom, and I don't support the troops and...
Please.
This is all rhetoric.
I love my country.
I love the language and eloquence and foresight that are the U.
S.
Constitution.
I do, however, make a distinction between my country and my government.
To be patriotic is to be mindful and painfully aware of the precious gift that was conferred upon us.
To be patriotic is to be a caretaker, a husbandman to the land and ideas of freedom that were passed on to us by our fathers.
To be patriotic is to care for and nurture our country so that we hand the torch over to our children with the flame still burning.
Perhaps the French People have understood our uniquely American United States Author, Mark Twain, better than the people of the country that produced such an old sage.
Perhaps, we too, could take a lesson from him as well and remember what being an American in this part of the world means and what an awesome responsibility comes with that moniker.
"Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.
" - Mark Twain
I love Brie and goat cheese, and crepes, and half rotted, tender beef.
I love Paris, Marseilles, Bordeaux, and the French Riviera.
Of all things French I probably love French Unity when it comes to being lazy.
I love the 35 hour work week, the endless lunch breaks that last nearly two hours and about half that if you procure a quick lunch from a street vendor.
While they will definitely have to make a change if they are to survive economically, you can't help but respect the way they come together for a cause.
France's President Nicolas Sarkozy sees that a change is needed and is trying desperately to implement those changes.
But, my lord, do those French dig the soles of their feet in for a cause.
Proceeding from that thought, one has to ask, "What happened to the United States of America?" Weren't we the ultimate rebels at one time? From tea in BostonHarbor in the face of a tyrannical monarchy to the labor strikes of the 1970's, we just didn't put up with injustice and forced servitude.
What happened, America? Did we just get too comfortable? Were the rewards of a new car every three or four years, an endless supply of a variety of beer, wines, spirits coupled with mind numbing amounts of televised sports do something to our thought process? Have we become reluctant to voice an opinion that might disrupt our part of the world? Is everything fine as long as we have a roof and a television? Our children are now taught in a "politically correct" manner.
Let's face it, it's not important how well you do in any given field of study as long as you felt good about it.
We now impose our Constitution on other countries.
Even make war to prove that it's vastly superior to anything else in existence.
I say, "Why not?" Let's face it, we don't use it anymore, we might as well rent it out.
Over the past forty-five to fifty years, there seems to have been a growing contempt, yes, even a loathing of the United States Constitution and the limits it places on government.
So much so that ways of circumventing, even suspending the edicts of our nation's Founding Fathers is common place within the halls of government.
Enter the Patriot Act.
What if, despite the fact that we have been taught to despise the French, we embraced the idea of "shutdown"? I sometimes believe that we as citizens of the U.
S.
A.
have forgotten how powerful we are as a group.
Taking a lesson from the French and even Austria, what if we protested unpopular laws by simply shutting the country and its commerce down until changes were made? Much the same way the RICO Statutes hit at the heart of organized crime by relieving the criminal element of property, money, and the items needed to further a criminal enterprise, what if we imposed our own version of RICO upon the decision makers of our government? What if we told our political crime families, you know, the Republicans and the Democrats that we're taking away their ability to further the criminal organization of the Federal Reserve, the Internal Revenue Service, the Patriot Act and even the ridiculous double standard in law enjoyed by members of Congress, for a twenty four hour period? That means no trains, no trucks, no ships, no dockworkers, no fuel, and no commerce of any kind for one complete business day? Then what if we actually could garner nationwide support for this action and then DID IT? After twenty-four hours they would have thirty days to comply.
That means changing laws, becoming accountable and actually working for us as was meant to be in the first place.
If nothing is done, we'll go out for a week, then ten days.
What if we continued until the folks in their Washington hotels and dormitories finally came to realize that we, the people who elected them, are in charge of this country and its future? Now some may say I'm unpatriotic.
Since I'm not with you I must be against you, and liberty, and freedom, and I don't support the troops and...
Please.
This is all rhetoric.
I love my country.
I love the language and eloquence and foresight that are the U.
S.
Constitution.
I do, however, make a distinction between my country and my government.
To be patriotic is to be mindful and painfully aware of the precious gift that was conferred upon us.
To be patriotic is to be a caretaker, a husbandman to the land and ideas of freedom that were passed on to us by our fathers.
To be patriotic is to care for and nurture our country so that we hand the torch over to our children with the flame still burning.
Perhaps the French People have understood our uniquely American United States Author, Mark Twain, better than the people of the country that produced such an old sage.
Perhaps, we too, could take a lesson from him as well and remember what being an American in this part of the world means and what an awesome responsibility comes with that moniker.
"Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.
" - Mark Twain