There is a phenomena occuring within the USA that, in my opinion, is generated by a selfish, ungrateful attitude in some people who are so comfortable and secure as to be spolied by and at the same time ashamed of the life of ease and openness our country has provided for them. These people publicly spout their contempt for the government and proudly whimper that they are ashamed of their citizenship. It is to these oblivious few that I offer some brotherly advice and admonishment.

Every once in a while it becomes necessary for Americans to reaffirm their priorities according to their desires and hopes for the future, essentially taking stock of where you are, what you want, and how you plan to get there, and evaluating your ability of attaining these goals via the methods you’ve adopted. The need for setting goals, overall, is obvious, but the choice of goals is not always so apparent. Reasons are personal and are not meant to be made public. But methods and attitude are not often kept secret and are usually noticed by anyone watching.

But a nation’s goals are, by their nature, intended to be a publicly scrutinized, intelligently debated set of commonly held hopes for the future of those who make up the population of the nation. For this reason, albeit not the primary reason, the citizens of the nation agree to be governed by an acceptable form of ruling body. The best government is individual self control.

This, though, is not practical for large populations because the more people there are the greater the number of predators who will prey on those trying to do right. For any significant census, a benevolent, central ruling organization is the least intrusive. Not the method of choice, but it has been shown to be the lesser evil of our choices.

We in the USA are fortunate to have had a remarkably astute and wisely intelligent group of people involved in the establishment of our democratic republic. For weeks and months these people labored over every single aspect of the form our government would take, argued intensely over every word and why and how it would be interpreted. You see, they had a very specific plan of the type of government they wanted.

Benjamin Franklin, who was not a voting delegate at the constitutional congress, was asked to give his opinion on the final draft of the constitution we have today. After explaining that he did not initially approve of it he said, "It astonishes me to find this system of government approaching so near to perfection as it does, and I think it will astonish our enemies who are waiting with confidence to hear that our counsels are confounded like those of Babel, and that our states are on the point of seperation, only to meet hereafter for the purpose of cutting each other’s throats."

He went on to say that, for the greater public good, he would give up his objections to the imperfections because he was not sure that it was not the best they could ever have. He went on to advise the delegates to not go home publicizing the differences and objections they had succesfully overcome, but to make a united front that could be a publicly proclaimed victory in that all had agreed on this constitution and had unanimously voted it in as law. Otherwise public opinion might be split again, especially in some not so friendly foreign courts.

Franklin knew very well the importance of unity in action and that successful action especially benefitted from unanimity and exhorted the delegates returning home to adopt an attitude of oneness and cohesion to the world. He also understood thoroughly the lift in spirit and boost to morale that news of a division in ranks gives to the enemies of an endeavor such as theirs and admonished the members to not let themselves be a source of any such boost in the hopes of the enemy.

We as a nation must now re-affirm the goals this "near perfect" constitution set forth, re-assess our reasons for them, and re-evaluate the methods we will use to attain them. We as individuals must decide whether or not we will be a part of that effort.

The goals of our founding brothers:

And . . .

The reasons for the goals were inherent and stated as a part of the expression of the goals.

And…

The Declaration of Independence was the promise they made to themselves and each other to strive for the goals stated, and the Constitution was the fulfillment of the promise in the form of the agreed upon steps necessary for reaching their goals. In the declaration they promised to each other their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor in the endeavor for life and the pursuit of happiness through individual freedom and personal liberties. In the Constitution they put that life, fortune, and sacred honor on the table for all to see and to make it available if needed by their partners. These men personally put it all on the line for the insurance of success that all citizens would eventually benefit from.

Can we, today, define any more perfect aspirations or goals than theirs? To live a life where no one, especially not a king or dictator, determines how your life will be lived. To have a nation as home where any person is free to move about in the pursuit of his idea of what should be.

Can we, today, design any more righteous method to attain those goals than by starting fresh and new and establishing a government that is built from the ground up by the people, for the people, and is made up of those people? It was then and remains today an inspired and honorable path to tread in pursuit of our lofty aspirations, and we have become the nation that the rest of the world patterns their behavior after if they, too, feel the need to be free and commit theselves to procuring that prize for themselves.

We face a different enemy than the founding brothers saw looming at their door. We face religious zealots who call for the total destruction of any form of government other than that of their religious laws, and for the anihillation of any and all who oppose them. There is no place for mediation in their world, only submission to their laws or death. Tolerance, pursuit of happiness, freedom through liberty for all is a stronger and more inviting temptation than is succumb or die.

We also face an enemy from within, a domestic threat to our great experiment of self-governance. This threat comes from a lack of responsibility on the part of those who would voluntarily sacrifice all personal liberty for the perceived comfort of being governed rather than being the governors. They see a government chosen by the people as corrupt, greedy, and inefficient at giving all to everyone. They would rather do nothing and live minimally than work for a higher life quality. All they have to do to destroy our Constitution is vote for its demise. That is their perception of their pursuit of happiness, but not mine.

Our pursuit and defense of that pursuit is now as it was when our forefathers declared: "as FREE AND INDEPENDENT STATES we have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which INDEPENDENT STATES may of right do."

It has become necessary that every person examine their own resolve to pledge their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor to the common goal of a free America, doing as Franklin saw the need and setting aside personal objections for the greater good of the people.

You must make your own decision about your choice of goals and how to achieve them. You need to decide what form of government you will support, theirs or ours. You must make your own choice about the future you would pursue and decide whether it will be them, or the US you will support. Then you must, if you honestly expect success in attaining your goals, declare your life, fortune, and sacred honor to be one with your fellow Americans regardless of party affiliation, and let no one outside our band of brothers see the objections and disagreements within lest the enemy receive hope and satisfaction from it

It is still just as true and important that we honor its meaning now as it has ever been to do so. Never let anyone take from us what so many have died to keep, our freedom.

Glenn Flowers