Is America really the best nation on earth? Our politicians get applause by telling us that it is. When some of our leaders spoke of mending fences with our allies, promising more cooperation and less of the arrogance we came to be known for recently, the mouthiest critics of the current administration screamed that they were "apologizing for America!" Nations, like individuals, should know that there's no shame in saying they're sorry.
Don't get me wrong; the U S of A is not perfect, and it's not God, but I think it's pretty great.
Sorry to say, there are a lot of Americans in 2010 who are not acting like they belong to a great nation. They scream about paying taxes, any taxes, as though being members of this club called America isn't worth paying dues. They go beyond exercising their right to disagree and openly slander our president, claiming that he's not even an American citizen, that he's a Marxist, that he has a coup d'etat up his sleeve, thus tacitly inviting another John Hinkley or Lee Harvey Oswald to creep out of a sewer and assassinate the duly elected representative of our nation before the world.
I do not claim to be a legal scholar. In my opinion, however, some recent actions clearly cross the line between free speech and sedition. Some lawmakers in Oklahoma want a legally authorized state militia, separate from the National Guard, for the stated purpose of battling the federal government. There are no words in the English language adequate to express just how contemptible I find that kind of thinking and those who endorse it. Contemptible and ignorant. The United States Constitution, in Sections 2 and 8 and Amendments 2 and 5 clarify that "the militia" is subject to the orders of the president and to rules established by Congress.
Note that I say "the militia." The founders of the nation envisioned one militia, not dozens, and they certainly did not endorse the idea that any bunch of bozos with guns could call themselves a militia and train in secret to resist legal authority, or even stage a revolution.
On ThusSayethMe my intention is to encourage dialogue, to build bridges, not walls. That does not mean that I will politely and softly express disagreement in every case. Hate mongers have sacrificed any right to my respect.