July 5th: Time for Reflection

The battle of Carthage 238ce was won decisively by Rome (1). In the film “The Gladiator”, a mock battle staged in the coliseum had a different result: the rebels won. That was fiction. Our rebellion is fact, and we won against a massively superior force: the British Empire.
The reasons for rebellion are usually complex, and sound bites and simple statements like “we fought for our freedom” or “we fought because they taxed us unfairly” don’t touch the long mix of reasons. The Americans did fight for their freedom, and were taxed unfairly, and were badly treated in trade, and were enslaved on the seas, and, well, the list goes on. But fight we did, and win we did. Over the years, the Constitution, that document that neocons and other conservative types insist should be interpreted only as the Founder wrote, has been amended many times. Tweaked. Interpreted both by vote (the amendments) and by precedent (court decisions). The Constitution has proved to be an invaluable guide to the more than 200 years of governance for America. It was written on paper, not stone.
I heard one of the Senators during the Kagan hearings say that Americans have never had less freedom than now, and he believed it continues to erode. He implied, as best I can remember, that some Supreme Court decisions had helped the slide into servitude.
If this is true, then what can we do about it? Buy more guns? Vote Libertarian (2)? Form militias and fight the government? No doubt both major political parties have curtailed some liberties. The Republicans want to take away a woman’s rights of personal body decisions (abortion), selectively remove habeas corpus (slippery slope?), listen to all your phone conservations without a court order and give mega corporations status as persons for 2nd amendment rights of free speech. This from the party that wants more freedoms and less government control. The Democrats want more regulation of financial giants, oil companies, air and water quality and healthcare, and want less freedom to purchase certain kinds of guns.
Both parties claim to be for more freedoms while at the same time curtailing freedoms in many areas. The battle cry of the year may be “throw the bums out!” The incumbents from both parties have gotten us here over the last 75 years or so. Time to start over? Maybe so, but it ain’t gonna happen, as is often heard in the South.
See, I think our guys (Democrats) are doing a better job than the other guys (Republicans) and the other guys think the same about us. So I won’t throw out bums of my party but would love to see some Republicans bite the dust. They feel the same way, and would love to see the Democrats bite the dust while their numbers grow. Oh yeah, and all the while Rome BURNS.
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Carthage_(238)
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libertarian_Party_(United_States)
Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/froodmat/16722536/in/photostream/