All posts in category Founding Fathers
Let us recollect that peace or war will not always be left to our option; that however moderate or unambitious we may be, we cannot count upon the moderation, or hope to extinguish the ambition of others. — Alexander Hamilton
My Take – You may not believe in violence, but violence may still be done to you. You may not believe in guns, but one can be used to harm you. Just because you are an upstanding, wonderful, law-abiding person doesn’t mean that someone with less respect for human life won’t take advantage of your pacifistic ways and take what is yours or even your life. Being prepared to do harm to protect yourself and those you hold dear does not mean you are looking for a fight. Rather, it means that you are prepared to survive the fight if one is forced upon you.
Posted by daddybear71 on June 23, 2012
https://daddybearsden.com/2012/06/23/30-days-of-the-founding-fathers-day-20/
I offer nothing more than simple facts, plain arguments, and common sense. — Thomas Paine
My Take – Don’t give me opinions, rhetoric, or feelings. Give me numbers, charts, facts, and plans of action. Manipulating me through emotional arm twisting will rarely get me on your side, but might gain you an opponent.
Posted by daddybear71 on June 22, 2012
https://daddybearsden.com/2012/06/22/30-days-of-the-founding-fathers-day-19/
Conscience is the most sacred of all property; other property depending in part on positive law, the exercise of that being a natural and unalienable right. To guard a man’s house as his castle, to pay public and enforce private debts with the most exact faith, can give no title to invade a man’s conscience, which is more sacred than his castle, or to withhold from it that debt of protection for which the public faith is pledged by the very nature and original conditions of the social pact. — James Madison
Posted by daddybear71 on June 21, 2012
https://daddybearsden.com/2012/06/21/30-days-of-the-founding-fathers-day-21/
Do not be frightened from this inquiry by any fear of its consequences. If it ends in a belief that there is no god, you will find incitements to virtue in the comfort and pleasantness you feel in its exercise, and the love of others which it will procure you. If you find reason to believe there is a God, a consciousness that you are acting under his eye, and that he approves you, will be a vast additional incitement; if that there be a future state, the hope of a happy existence in that increases the appetite to deserve it; if that Jesus was also a god, you will be comforted by a belief of his aid and love. — Thomas Jefferson
My Take – By studying religion, even if you aren’t a believer, you can find ways to be a better person, both to yourself and to others. If by studying, you gain a stronger faith, so much the better, but at a minimum the exercise of reading Scripture, taking quiet time to consider yourself and your place in the universe, or whatever it is you are studying will lead you to a better place.
Posted by daddybear71 on June 20, 2012
https://daddybearsden.com/2012/06/20/30-days-of-the-founding-fathers-17/
Besides the advantage of being armed, which the Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation, the existence of subordinate governments, to which the people are attached, and by which the militia officers are appointed, forms a barrier against the enterprises of ambition, more insurmountable than any which a simple government of any form can admit of. Notwithstanding the military establishments in the several kingdoms of Europe, which are carried as far as the public resources will bear, the governments are afraid to trust the people with arms. — James Madison
My Take – President Madison just made the best case for the Second Amendment and the separation of State and Federal power that I’ve ever heard. The federal government ought to be as small as we can get away with, with as much power as possible pushed as far down the chain of federal-state-county-local as we possibly can. All of them ought to have a healthy respect for a population with not only the inclination to oppose them, but the tools necessary to resist them.
Posted by daddybear71 on June 19, 2012
https://daddybearsden.com/2012/06/19/30-days-of-the-founding-fathers-day-16/
Few men have virtue to withstand the highest bidder.– George Washington
My Take – How far is it from campaign contribution to quid pro quo? Our electoral system is awash in money, and it has a corrosive effect on our republic. How we deal with that has been the subject of long winded and pointed debate for decades, and I don’t have a good answer. If we restrict how much money can be donated to a candidate or cause, we restrict the free speech of the donor. But if we don’t find a way to keep deep pockets from buying our politicians, we risk devolving into an oligarchy where only the rich get a real voice.
Posted by daddybear71 on June 18, 2012
https://daddybearsden.com/2012/06/18/30-days-of-the-founding-fathers-day-15/
I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. ‘Tis the business of little minds to shrink; but he whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, will pursue his principles unto death. — Thomas Paine
Posted by daddybear71 on June 17, 2012
https://daddybearsden.com/2012/06/17/30-days-of-the-founding-fathers-day-14/
I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power, than by violent and sudden usurpations — James Madison
My Take – Our freedoms have been bled from us drop by drop, usually as a result of us clamoring for someone to do something to make our lives better. This creeping tyranny has made it comfortable to just let go and enjoy the lack of responsibility for ourselves that comes with giving those who know better the power to take care of us. The challenge is going to be convincing more and more people that not only should they take back the reins of their lives, but that it is impossible for the government to provide for them indefinitely.
Posted by daddybear71 on June 16, 2012
https://daddybearsden.com/2012/06/16/30-days-of-the-founding-fathers-day-13/
As to the history of the revolution, my ideas may be peculiar, perhaps singular. What do we mean by the Revolution? The war? That was no part of the revolution; it was only an effect and consequence of it. The revolution was in the minds of the people, and this was effected from 1760–1775, in the course of fifteen years, before a drop of blood was shed at Lexington. — John Adams
My Take – Our revolution, our fight for liberty, did not end in 1783. Every day that we get up and enjoy our freedoms we continue the revolution. Every time we teach a child to read and understand her rights and responsibilities as a citizen, we continue our revolution. Every time someone in a far-flung corner of the globe walks into a consulate and applies for an immigration visa, our revolution continues. Shame on the generation that stops the revolution and slides into slavery.
Posted by daddybear71 on June 15, 2012
https://daddybearsden.com/2012/06/15/30-days-of-the-founding-fathers-day-12/
As we enjoy great Advantages from the Inventions of Others, we should be glad of an Opportunity to serve others by any Invention of ours, and this we should do freely and generously. — Benjamin Franklin
My Take – The founding fathers didn’t come up with the concepts that coalesced in the Declaration of Independence and our Constitution. They stood on the shoulders of giants, and gave a boost to the country we have now. What we have been given, we just improve and pass on, both to our children and to anyone else who yearns for freedom and prosperity.
Posted by daddybear71 on June 14, 2012
https://daddybearsden.com/2012/06/14/30-days-of-the-founding-fathers-day-11/
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