DEMOCRACY: Government & Politics | January 20, 2005

TAKE HEART,

MY FELLOW FRIENDS OF LIBERTY

A Posting in "Comments From Left Field"

On Inauguration Day, by "The Scarecrow" *, 

After My E-Mail to Democratic Activists "Hard Lessons for Democrats"

My fellow Friends of Liberty,

Your obedient, The Scarecrow, could not bring himself to watch today the coronation of King George II, Pretender to the Throne.

And yea, verily, King George is indeed and in fact Pretender, unless ye put your faith more in the voting machinations devised by his patrons and not subject to impartial audit than in the voting polls devised by science and open for all to see. The Scarecrow doth not care to insult his intelligence or yours and worship a Golden Calf -- a false god, made by men -- rather, I have come back from my 18th Century grave to reinvigorate within ye the spirit of the Age of Reason (not blind faith, in monarchs anything but divine) -- a reverence for the Truth that inspired your founders and gave rise to your great nation.

But on this day of coronation, a day of infamy yet again (for now two elections have been sealed by the friends of the King), ye Democrats -- and all others of open and reasonable mind who wish to keep alive the true Spirit of '76 -- must be searching your souls and asking yourselves all manner of questions most electoral and most vexing, beginning and ending with...

How can ye win? Why should ye win?

If I may be so bold, your obedient would care to proffer an answer or two, maybe more...

Ye can win if and only if ye make your Number One concern the everyday concerns of everyday Americans.

Ye can win by vetting your candidates, not front-loading your primaries.

Ye can win by fighting back, not remaining aloof.

Ye can win by nominating executives for President: Your governors win; your senators lose...except that Senator JFK, oh-so-many years ago. Charisma trumps all.

Ye can win by making Democratic values -- "liberal" or otherwise -- not merely "acceptable" but simply irresistible!

And what are those values? Why should ye win? Unlike your opponents, ye do not wish to gain the world but lose your soul!

Ye Democrats stand for the rule of law, not illegal war.

Ye Democrats stand for building up -- not tearing down -- your Social Security, progressive taxation, education, natural environs, and health care. Your positions are as moral as your opponents' positions are immoral.

Ye Democrats stand for personal and corporate and public responsibility. Ye Democrats stand for good citizenship.

Ye Democrats stand for liberty and justice for all -- for Americans who have much or little or are in the middle; for Americans who have skin that is white, black, brown, red, or yellow; for Americans who have affections for whomever they do; for Americans who have been born male or female; moreover, for people who have been born in any situation or nation.

Ye Democrats stand for what is best in America.

My fellow Friends of Liberty, even on this bleak day of undeserved pomp and circumstance, take heart and continue to keep the faith -- not blind faith in the oily words and machinations of a powerful few, but well-placed faith in the inherent goodness and wisdom of the People at large...tho' it may take some time for more eyes to be opened -- most likely, most unfortunately, most ironically -- by the untruths and unreasonable policies of the King himself.

For no one, not even a powerful Pretender to the Throne, can hide from the Truth -- the one, true God.

Your obedient servant,

The Scarecrow

* My alter-ego, after the classic 18th Century character created in the early 20th Century by Russell Thorndike in his Doctor Syn novels, adapted in various films. No endorsement of my commentaries by any other individual or company exists or is implied.