Rebuild On Clarity And Courage

There are many who contend we woke up this morning in a different country than we did yesterday. There is an element of truth to that. But only an element. That country we're waking up in is the same one that has been torn down brick by brick for over a century. The stone which hit the ground yesterday afternoon just gave (or should have given) clarity to the extent of how corrupt the institutions that many have habitually accepted as the refuge of our Liberty truly are. It gives focus to both the width and depth of that corruption, as well as what should be a firm realization that the hoped-for salvation of those institutions cannot be trusted to the political class, regardless of whichever labels they wear.

There are those who have claimed for some time that we have "lost our republic,” and today many more should be singing the same song. Mark Levin has said we are living in a “post-Constitutional” America. And he is more than half right in that we have rarely functioned as a constitutional republic over recent years and that is comfortable for the political class.

I believe there is a difference between a leftist and an “old-school liberal.” One is an evil being and the other is a useful idiot. But when someone burns down your house, the end result and damage are the same, regardless of the intentions of the one who set the fire.

I have spoken before on these pages about “death ground,” more than once. There are things with which you can not compromise without inviting a deeper and more dangerous challenge.

I do not accept that our republic is lost, yet. But I can promise that if Donald Trump is not elected, it is. And the effort to regain our path to Liberty will be even harder than it has already become.

The republic is not lost but it has to undergo a massive rebuilding. It will not be a pleasant nor speedy task. The foundations we have allowed to erode were laid over centuries. But we know what they are.

What happened in a NYC courtroom yesterday was a genuine insurrection aimed at the heart of Liberty. It was not a moment of heated foolishness by a few. It was planned, deliberate and methodical. It was just a part of a determined effort to deny the key element of a self-governing people, legitimate consent. This is what brings down republican governments. This is insurrection. I am confident that somewhere there is some reasonable soul typing out their outrage similar to “impeach, convict, bar from office.”

The "long march" through our institutions has been as broad as it has been long. There is much to rebuild. And yes, that means some tearing down. And determined challenges to existing power.

I have been relatively silent here for a while, having allowed a couple of other “projects” to take a great deal of my study and thought as well as time and action. That is in addition to a 95-year-old housemate who is determined to drive off and wander grass lots and creek banks regardless of how many times he falls and waits for me to find him and help with getting back on his feet. And there will still be hay to cut if it ever dries up from all the rain and storms that seem to be an every-other-day routine by now. But I do have impressions to share even if this visit is short and they might lack depth or wisdom.

The moment in NYC yesterday was decades in the making but it is also a desperate one, one which they will find hard to back away from. The tyranny will only grow from this, even more open and arrogant But it is also a moment which should not cower those who value Liberty. It should create energy, resolve and focus. Boldness is a defining characteristic of those “children of Liberty” who gave us what is now in need of our protection.

We are on death ground and will be for a while, perhaps always. But the Liberty we are protecting was not won by an overwhelming majority in the British colonies. It was won, we are told, by a determined one-third who would not relent. Somewhere in a file is the start of a piece with that theme, abandoned for another task, which I need to search out. If, in the next few days, a post appears talking about Tories, turtles and beavers you will know I found and finished it.

In the meantime, I will remind you that two things are required for keeping Liberty are Clarity and Courage. Neither seems to be common. But then, neither is Liberty. It is rare not just in today’s world, but has been in all of history. All who have been fortunate enough to have stood in this land for the last few hundred years are blessed with an opportunity most humans could never dream of. This is a time to begin the rebuilding.