October 4, 2010
A quote by Ben Franklin outside Independence Hall right after the Constitutional Convention in 1787, is often misquoted, but the actual quote without all the added flair, is just as thought provoking if one would allow. A woman from Philadelphia asked Doctor Franklin if the new constitution gave Americans a republic or a monarchy. His answer was simply, “A republic, if you can keep it.” If we further look at additional quotes by Mr. Franklin and others, we might begin to get a sense of why we might lose it, for it was Franklin who said, “When the people find they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic.”; the key word here is money: the power that it wields and the destruction from its worship.
The Founding Fathers handed the citizens of the new America a republic, that is, a government where the supreme power rests in the hands of those legal citizens who can vote, a government of and by the people who through their power of the vote elect representatives. Have we kept it?
James Madison wrote:”To suppose that any form of government will secure liberty or happiness without any virtue in the people is a chimerical [highly unrealistic] idea.”
George Washington knew what government was all about when he said, “Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master.”
Thomas Jefferson, who was adept at discerning the thoughts and intents of men, wrote: “A nation, as a society, forms a moral person, and every member of it is personally responsible for his society.”
And George Washington from his life’s journey understood what the influence of money and power can bring: “Few men have virtue to withstand the highest bidder.”
Today, it is the highest bidder that is at the root of corruption that threatens the foundation of our great nation. Every American plays a role whether they know it or not. Are you a sympathizer, an activist, a fanatic or one of the many uninformed, easily swayed by the direction the wind blows?
Eric Hoffer, author of “The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements”, tells of the nature of humans and the techniques involved in recruiting the masses, often blindly, to carry out the mission of the high bidder. He wrote:
“All mass movements generate in their adherents a readiness to die and a proclivity for united action; all of them, irrespective of the doctrine they preach, and the program they project, breed fanaticism, enthusiasm, fervent hope, hatred and intolerance; all of them are capable of releasing a powerful flow of activity in certain departments of life; all of them demand blind faith and singlehearted allegiance.
All movements however different in doctrine and aspiration, draw their early adherence from the same types of humanity; they all appeal to the same types of minds.” At first they come gently. With power the speak and act boldly.
Hoffer believed that it mattered not under what banner one might exercise their sympathy, activism or fanaticism, it was the same “types of minds” that flocked to a movement. I contend that those looking for blind-faith followers need only to pick the right subject that fits the needy. We see this everyday in animal rights, environmentalism, global warming or any mass movement, such as “Going Green” that appeals to the senses and plays on emotions, paving the way for the same “types of minds” to blindly follow.
The masses mindlessly follow, drawn by their strings of emotions expertly pulled on by the leaders of the doctrine; unaware and perhaps uncaring as to who or what leads them. Needs dismantle sensibility. Emotions overpowering.
Few grasp the real doctrine they are eager to give allegiance to, seemingly more interested in self-gratifying actions that might ease one’s restless sleep. Blind emotions combined with a diminished sense of virtue can steer people in many directions, unwittingly playing into the hands of powers seldom seen, more often unrecognized, uncaring as the small world about them seems unblemished.
The same “types of minds” allow for the manipulative control by the larger powers. How innocent it may seem to save an owl, clean up our water, limit our air pollution, save the planet or simply go green. It’s the corruption hidden behind the superficial crusade that is most troublesome and seldom exposed……at least until now.
A Washington Examiner Special Report notes that when Carl Pope worked for the Sierra Club as the Executive Director, he said, “environmentalism is part of a broader progressive movement.”
What once began as a simple and seemingly innocent desire by some to change our stewardship of our natural resources, has turned into a multi-billion dollar corrupt business that too few people in this country are even aware of. Giving a dollar here and a dollar there, carrying banners, volunteering time, all believing in working toward something good, when in reality the same “types of minds” have lined the pockets of people like Al Gore.
Mark Hemingway writes of Al Gore: “Perhaps the most well-known environmental leader in the country, and for good reason. The author of “Earth in the Balance,” star of “An Inconvenient Truth,” and organizer of the Live Earth concert has done more than any individual to raise awareness of global warming claims. And, since he’s walked away from politics, book sales, speaking fees and his role as an environmental investment adviser have made him hundreds of millions of dollars.”
And he is only one of many manipulating the same “types of minds” to achieve financial reward. This must be part of the “broader progressive movement” Carl Pope referred to.
While the same “types of minds” are giving money and time to save the planet, the “broader progressive movement” has little actual concern about saving anything, except enough money and power for themselves.
Are you ignorant of these movements? Are you clueless but give anyway? Perhaps you are one who sympathizes with those who play on your emotions and you bite into the premise that we all should do a little something? Maybe you’re a real activist or a full fledged fanatic.
Regardless of what you are or think you are, I’m sorry to say you are one of those same “types of minds”. You and your children are being played like a well worn fiddle and you probably don’t even know it.
Tom Remington
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