July 14, 2003
Bastille Day
Bastille Day celebrates a jailbreak.
Of course it was more than a jailbreak. It was the end of the monarchy, the birth of a Republic. The French move toward democracy did not end on Bastille Day — it just began there.
Since Bastille Day France has had five Republics, five Constitutions, five different ways to organize executive, legislative and judicial power. Meanwhile the U.S. has had one, a Constitution that came into force the same year the Bastille was stormed.
Today another Bastille is being stormed. Slowly the storm is building - against monopoly, against the politics of money, against the domination of the many by the few.
The Dean Campaign is the best expression of this, not because of the candidate it represents, but because of the way it is being waged. It is a campaign of small donors, of big crowds, of hot rhetoric. It is a true campaign, in which thousands, then tens of thousands, then hundreds of thousands are being enlisted to demand the power the Constitution gave them, power that was taken from them by the Bush Junta, and used in an attempt to make power permanent based on birthright.
George W. Bush never did a thing in his life to deserve the Presidency -- not one thing. It was given him by the money men, by the greedy men, because they knew he would obey their will. He has.
But George W. Bush is not America. We are. We will take our country back. We will take it back through the means prescribed by our Constitution. We will keep the First Republic of America. We will not fail because we are, simply, Americans.
The genius of America is that for over 200 years its system of checks and balances have kept generals, monopolists, preachers, and politicians from keeping power the people had not freely given. So it has been. So it will be.
Happy Bastille Day.
Posted by Danablankenhorn at July 14, 2003 11:18 AMalthough this was a little propaganda-y one cant help but feel invigorated by the dean campaign and the level of direct involvment with it that is possible.
Posted by: Tom at July 14, 2003 04:55 PMdoes anyone honestly believe that dean, if elected would be able to change the way this country runs? no matter who is president i don’t see our military budget decreasing, i don’t see our lower classes receiving any more much-needed aid, and i certainly don’t see the richest 1% being held in check. keep in mind that this system of checks and ballances that we love to laud after sitting through years of pro-establishment history classes is so effective that no matter which party is in power, nothing significant changes. the rest of us can spend our time arguing over which candidate is better, and why he (and hopefully someday she) is the correct choice, but can anyone honestly tell me that the course of history would have been different if a republican was in office as opposed to a democrat (or vice versa)? our military budget would still be enormous, our health care system would still be a mess, and our rich would still be getting richer while the poor get poorer.
…but that’s just one man’s opinion
what are the alternatives? i understand what you are saying but should we just not try?
Posted by: Tom C. at July 14, 2003 11:00 PMtom c.
i’m not suggesting that we shouldn’t try, i’m simply saying that we shouldn’t expect elected officials to make the changes for us. it’s our responsibility to do all that we can for society too.
Although I think your point is a bit like a climatic speech in a bad Hollywood movie from the 80s, I have to agree that Dean is doing something different, something that speaks directly to the people. Whether or not this will be louder and more persuasive than the other democratic candidates is to be seen.
However, I must question how you loosely tied in the French to the post. It seems like an odd cheap shot, maybe even a bit sophmoric in it’s approach. I think you could have made your point much better without that reference.
Posted by: Ryan at July 15, 2003 11:03 AMMuch like you took back the House and Senate in 2002? (chuckle)
Posted by: hambone at July 15, 2003 01:41 PMDid you see what Shrub said today?
http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/07/15/bush.intelligence.ap/index.html
“When it’s all said and done,” Bush said Monday, “the people of the United States and the world will realize that Saddam Hussein had a weapons program.”
WTF does that mean?
He had one. Sure, 12-15 years ago!
But, Shrub, did he have one ready to kill us in 45 minutes? Was he an *active* threat?
This line is typical of Shrub moving the goal posts.
Keep changing the question until you find a true answer you can live with.
IMPEACHMENT: Not just for oral anymore
Posted by: Robbie D at July 15, 2003 05:18 PM“did he have one ready to kill us in 45 minutes?”
Noone in the administration EVER said that about reaching the U.S. so it is intellectually dishonest. You know as do i that that was said about the potential prep time for a chemical warhead to be used on the battlefield and it is in fact accurate. You wouldnt know anything about that though. Would you?
