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I don't usually talk politics here. I stand where I stand and I don't much talk about it. But I'm going to talk about some politics right now and say where I stand. This isn't spurred on by my flist. Rather, this is spurred by people in my real life. This is what I think. Right here. This is the base of my politics.
You have the right to disagree with me. This doesn't mean that I'm not going to disagree so hard that your grandmother is going to feel it. But go ahead. Because I'm going to tell you why I think the way I do here and now.
The Declaration of Independence has these words to say, "We hold these truths to be self-evident: That all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."
The Massachusetts Constitution of 1780 has these: "All men are born free and equal, and have certain natural, essential, and unalienable rights; among which may be reckoned the right of enjoying and defending their lives and liberties; that of acquiring, possessing, and protecting property; in fine, that of seeking and obtaining their safety and happiness."
Now, I have no idea when agreeing with eighteenth century politics made me a liberal. I'm actually a little baffled, but they're your words, not mine. I thought that reading the Declaration of Independence and nodding and saying, "Yes, yes, this makes sense!" made me a sensible American. I thought that agreeing with my state constitution made me a good citizen of my state. (Oh? Yes. I do suppose that this is the constitution of Massachusetts. You do know that we were founded by the Puritans, right? Who were notorious for driving rebellious liberals like Quakers and Catholics out of the state? You did know that, right?)
I really like the Massachusetts version of this statement. We're all born equal and free. We all have natural, essential, and unalienable rights. We have the right to enjoy and defend our lives and liberties. We have the right to acquire, possess, and protect property. We have the right to seek and obtain our own safety and happiness. Doesn't that just make you feel warm and fuzzy inside? I mean, I am of the general opinion that humanity sucks and is in the process of driving itself off of a cliff of destruction, but this? This is true. On the most basic level, we're all the same. And we don't even need to bring god into it.
So, let's go on this. I am going to work on the assumption that we all have agreed, either explicitly or implicitly, to agree with the Declaration of Independence since it's rather the underpinning of our nation. It's a pretty awesome text, outside of my use of it here. It's our first statement as a sovereign nation. We reject the theory of the divine right of kings. It's possibly one of the best texts ever written by committee. It's a damn fine piece of revolutionary literature. But it's also a fine basis for a country.
Abraham Lincoln, that famous top hatted president, was the bright man who pointed out, in 1854, that "all men" might not mean, "white males over the age of majority." Very bright man, that Abraham Lincoln. It was a little controversial at the times to suggest that the term "all" meant "every one (of), or the complete amount or number (of), or the whole (of)." But you know, that started - just started, mind - getting some shit done.
Now, I'd love to point out that "all" means "every one (of), or the complete amount or number (of), or the whole (of)." And I'd like to submit the thought that "men" means "the human race" (re: "man" as "LITERARY OR OLD-FASHIONED a person of either sex"). I am going to be radical and combine the Declaration of Independence and Constitution of Massachusetts and say, "This is the truth: all of humanity is equal. All of humanity has unalienable rights. We have the right to enjoy our life and liberty. We have the right to pursue happiness and safety. We have the right to acquire, possess, and protect property. These our our rights. They are inalienable."
So do you know what "every one (of), or the complete amount or number (of), or the whole (of)" "the human race" means? This means even people you don't like. People you think are icky. People you think are gross. People you just know are going to burn in Hell. People you hate. People you don't want to have inalienable rights.
Everyone has these rights. If someone wants to look at porn? Yep. If someone loves someone of the same gender? Yep. If someone want to protest a war? Yep. If someone belongs to a different religion or sect from you - or no religion at all? Yep. If someone handles their property in a way in which you wouldn't handle yours? Yep. If someone raises their children in a way in which you wouldn't raise yours? Yep. If someone wants to do any variety of legal activities that you morally disagree with? Well, it's your right to morally disagree with them. And it's their right to keep on doing it.
I could go on about issues that matter to me. I could. There are plenty of things I'd love to throw in the faces of the conservatives in my life - and at most politicians. I'd love to lob "Separate but equal is inherently unequal" at some folks. I really would. I could keep ranting. But you know what? It probably wouldn't get me anywhere.
There is one thing I really want to know. And if someone could give me the answer, I'd be eternally grateful.
When did agreeing with the Declaration of Independence make me a liberal? When did believing that "All men are born equal and free" make me avante-garde, unorthodox, or anything other than a United States citizen?
My state constitution believes in the Oxford English comma \o/
You have the right to disagree with me. This doesn't mean that I'm not going to disagree so hard that your grandmother is going to feel it. But go ahead. Because I'm going to tell you why I think the way I do here and now.
The Declaration of Independence has these words to say, "We hold these truths to be self-evident: That all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."
The Massachusetts Constitution of 1780 has these: "All men are born free and equal, and have certain natural, essential, and unalienable rights; among which may be reckoned the right of enjoying and defending their lives and liberties; that of acquiring, possessing, and protecting property; in fine, that of seeking and obtaining their safety and happiness."
Now, I have no idea when agreeing with eighteenth century politics made me a liberal. I'm actually a little baffled, but they're your words, not mine. I thought that reading the Declaration of Independence and nodding and saying, "Yes, yes, this makes sense!" made me a sensible American. I thought that agreeing with my state constitution made me a good citizen of my state. (Oh? Yes. I do suppose that this is the constitution of Massachusetts. You do know that we were founded by the Puritans, right? Who were notorious for driving rebellious liberals like Quakers and Catholics out of the state? You did know that, right?)
I really like the Massachusetts version of this statement. We're all born equal and free. We all have natural, essential, and unalienable rights. We have the right to enjoy and defend our lives and liberties. We have the right to acquire, possess, and protect property. We have the right to seek and obtain our own safety and happiness. Doesn't that just make you feel warm and fuzzy inside? I mean, I am of the general opinion that humanity sucks and is in the process of driving itself off of a cliff of destruction, but this? This is true. On the most basic level, we're all the same. And we don't even need to bring god into it.
So, let's go on this. I am going to work on the assumption that we all have agreed, either explicitly or implicitly, to agree with the Declaration of Independence since it's rather the underpinning of our nation. It's a pretty awesome text, outside of my use of it here. It's our first statement as a sovereign nation. We reject the theory of the divine right of kings. It's possibly one of the best texts ever written by committee. It's a damn fine piece of revolutionary literature. But it's also a fine basis for a country.
Abraham Lincoln, that famous top hatted president, was the bright man who pointed out, in 1854, that "all men" might not mean, "white males over the age of majority." Very bright man, that Abraham Lincoln. It was a little controversial at the times to suggest that the term "all" meant "every one (of), or the complete amount or number (of), or the whole (of)." But you know, that started - just started, mind - getting some shit done.
Now, I'd love to point out that "all" means "every one (of), or the complete amount or number (of), or the whole (of)." And I'd like to submit the thought that "men" means "the human race" (re: "man" as "LITERARY OR OLD-FASHIONED a person of either sex"). I am going to be radical and combine the Declaration of Independence and Constitution of Massachusetts and say, "This is the truth: all of humanity is equal. All of humanity has unalienable rights. We have the right to enjoy our life and liberty. We have the right to pursue happiness and safety. We have the right to acquire, possess, and protect property. These our our rights. They are inalienable."
So do you know what "every one (of), or the complete amount or number (of), or the whole (of)" "the human race" means? This means even people you don't like. People you think are icky. People you think are gross. People you just know are going to burn in Hell. People you hate. People you don't want to have inalienable rights.
Everyone has these rights. If someone wants to look at porn? Yep. If someone loves someone of the same gender? Yep. If someone want to protest a war? Yep. If someone belongs to a different religion or sect from you - or no religion at all? Yep. If someone handles their property in a way in which you wouldn't handle yours? Yep. If someone raises their children in a way in which you wouldn't raise yours? Yep. If someone wants to do any variety of legal activities that you morally disagree with? Well, it's your right to morally disagree with them. And it's their right to keep on doing it.
I could go on about issues that matter to me. I could. There are plenty of things I'd love to throw in the faces of the conservatives in my life - and at most politicians. I'd love to lob "Separate but equal is inherently unequal" at some folks. I really would. I could keep ranting. But you know what? It probably wouldn't get me anywhere.
There is one thing I really want to know. And if someone could give me the answer, I'd be eternally grateful.
When did agreeing with the Declaration of Independence make me a liberal? When did believing that "All men are born equal and free" make me avante-garde, unorthodox, or anything other than a United States citizen?
My state constitution believes in the Oxford English comma \o/
