Shutterstock
photo
“If we really want to know who is responsible
for the mess we're in, all we have to do is look in the mirror. You and I own
this country and we are responsible for what happens to it.”
– Ross Perot
Hyde Park in London is located near the entrance to
Buckingham Palace. It’s been hosting free concerts, festivals, fairs, noble
duals, and events since the 1500s. During the 19th century when Europeans were
passionate about social and political change, people from all over Europe fled
to Hyde Park to share their grievances. Today, activists from around the globe
flock to Hyde Park to voice their views about anything and everything freely.
It has been dubbed the free speech zone for “bewailing.” On any given day,
there is enough hot air generated to launch the Goodyear Blimp.
America has been a free speech zone since our founding.
Free speech led to The Revolutionary War. It fought wars. It stopped bad wars
and ended slavery. It provided equal opportunity. Activists didn’t just talk
the talk but walked the walk and made social and political history in America.
Their voices were the call to action. Their battle cries were not criticisms
for self-enamoration, but for a cause greater than they were. They finished
what they started. They weren’t like some activists today that fill social
media with so much hot air that climate changers accuse them of global warming.
One of the virtues for those seeking political and social
asylum in the New World was freedom of speech and assemblage. America was
founded on activism by men of honor whose actions spoke louder than their
words.
Thomas Paine, our forgotten founder, walked from township to township to
motivate passive colonialists to revolt for freedom. During the Revolution, he
inspired our soldiers to keep fighting when defeat was on the horizon. If it
wasn’t for Paine’s activism, we’d still be subjects instead of citizens.
“A man’s actions say much more than his most
noble words.”
– Thomas Paine
Throughout our modern history, the activism of true
leaders has made our nation stronger and far better than it would have been
without them. Dynamic speakers like Ronald Reagan and Dr. Martin Luther King
inspired the actions of others to bring about social and political change that
made America a better place for everyone. Real leaders create more leaders than
they have followers because:
“There is no limit to the amount of good you
can do if you don't care who gets the credit.”
– Ronald Reagan
American activists responded to abuse of power by
politicians like Huey Long, Franklin Roosevelt, Barack Obama and others.
Activist legislators in FDR’s party revolted against his attempt to stack the
court with hand-picked justices. Obama, who pledged to unite our nation,
divided it soon after he took office.
When he laid out plans to transform
America into a socialist democracy, patriots around the nation organized and
joined the Tea Party movement. They stopped him in his tracks by retaking the
House from progressives the year he socialized healthcare. They were organized
and knew their Constitution and how to derail Obama.
Activism can easily become contagious. Part-time patriots
have discovered pseudo-activism is a way to garner public attention by forming
conclaves of like-minded misfits with patriotic monikers. Following the Tea
Party Movement, tribal clans of self-anointed activist groups sprang up around
America faster than Obama could say “change.” And the America Obama had
divided, subdivided into activist bedlam. These mock activists cheapened the
triumphs of the true reformers and their patriotic efforts to stop the
progressive destruction of our democratic republic. This reversed our patriotic
momentum. Despite their interference, enough patriots survived to elect Donald
Trump.
Today, activists from every school protest something for
some reason, some place, everyday. They come in a myriad of flavors; social
justice seekers, socialists, climaters, gun controllers, preachers,
pro-morality, anti-morality, “our-way is the only-way activists” and more. Some
are organized, know Constitutional law and address real issues that can be
corrected in our courts and legislatures. But there is such a potpourri of
wayward cartels vying for a soapbox; their chaotic misbehaving drowns out
rational reforms.
“Chaos only serves the most extreme elements
of society.”
– Daniel Lubetzky
When the Tea Party put people in Congress to restore
Constitutional order, other politicians tried to capitalize on their success.
That was a fatal mistake. By then, many Tea Parties had been infiltrated with
clone-startups that polluted their message. And this fueled a new breed of
activist lawmakers who proposed unrealistic “feel good” laws in social media’s
court of opinions. They were heroes of the day with mock activist groups. But
their social media fame faded on Election Day as voters elected people who’d
write laws to improve their lives, not to entertain activists. And they all
lost their jobs.
Philosopher Iris Murdoch wrote, “The great task in life
is to find reality.” Informed voters fear overly aggressive politicians
force-feeding their personal menu of quick fixes for things they don’t believe
are broken. Stroking the egos of selected social media whiners might make one a
hero, but it does not appeal to the electorate or win elections. Business
responds negatively to instability during an election cycle. Obama took
advantage of a major recession and “conned” well over half of America with one
“say-nothing” catchphrase:
“We are the change we've been waiting for.”
– Barack Obama
The antics of Obama not only birthed the Tea Part
movement, but worse, it opened the legislative chamber doors for a host of very
dangerous and aggressive leftist activist legislators who revealed they know
less about constitutional law than Barney Fife.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez,
Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar, rapper Antonio Delgado, and activist Sharice Davids
should have never been elected. They had no experience, or knowledge of law,
and campaigned to cause chaos in Congress. The support from mock activists
helped them transform Congress into a circus show. These bad actors didn’t run
for office. They auditioned for starring roles on Congress’s stage at
taxpayer’s expense.
Americans like Rosa Parks who refused to give up her seat
on the bus in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1955 ignited the Civil Rights Movement.
Other activists started campaigns to change local laws. No matter how big or
small, America has benefited from citizen activism done for the right reason
that benefits society. But when a small group of misfits and radical
legislators disrupt constitutional law and order for personal gain, it
discourages the activism America depends on to maintain our liberty.
“People are not going to change because an
activist goes around shouting.”
– Jens Martin Skibsted
Thomas Paine wrote, “Every man has a right to his
opinion.” Our nation was founded by men with informed opinions they shared to
form our great republic. We have the longest-surviving republic in history due
to citizen interaction with government. Timely protests have ushered in needed
change. But disruptive engagement has resulted in riots, mob violence, and
socio-political unrest.
America is at a critical crossroads. We need an
enlightened voice from citizens and legislators to recover law and judicial
order for our republic to make the “right turn” in order to survive another two
centuries.
“There never was any truth or principle so
irresistibly obvious that all men believed it at once. Time and reason must
cooperate with each other for the establishment of any principle.”
– Thomas Paine
