I know I've been a bit preachy over the last month or so — columns about voting, heroes, tenacity, courage and such — all because I'm worried. I'm worried about our nation. Why? First we have a president and a congress that can't seem to balance our national checkbook. And all sorts of folks are really mad about that.
Sure, some on the right will contend that it's all the fault of the Democrats who refuse to cut spending. Others will contend that the left has it correct and that we need to raise revenues. Some, on both sides of this continual debate have thrown their gloves down and raised the rhetoric to "fighting words."
The president, while not campaigning according to his advocates, uses words like "take up the march" and "we must win this fight." On the other side, right-wingers urge supporters to "take back our country." An out-of-control (in my opinion, and yes I still favor a free press) media fuels what has become an angry debate with sound and picture bites of taunts and smack talk leveled and being leveled from and at both sides — sometimes in the same newscast.
The last time I marched and fought it was in a war, and personally I never thought our country belonged to one side or the other — taking it back never crossed my mind because I never thought it (our nation) was taken anywhere.
Young people carry signs and camp out on Wall Street reminiscent of Kent State and freedom demonstrations during the '60s. The government (whoever that happens to be) is to blame for everything. All it takes is for one person to bring a weapon to turn a demonstration into a nightmare; and that person can be from either side, the authorities or the demonstrators. No one wins when violence enters the occasion.
I wanted to write this column about one of the greatest minds of our nation — Thomas Jefferson. I wanted to quote him with hawkish phrases like "the tree of liberty must be refreshed, from time to time, with the blood of patriots and tyrants." The fiery Virginia redhead had a way with words that inspired folks to rally and take powerful actions to secure freedom.
Jefferson was a true revolutionist. However, I was sure that he went on to advocate more peaceful means of revolution other than armed conflict and the literal spilling of blood. I was sure that this great mind had pointed to the ballot box as the ultimate peaceful way to conduct a revolution on a periodic basis. He didn't!
Jefferson's revolution was everything he said it was; to him the revolution was a continual effort, was never fully settled and required the ultimate sacrifice of patriots to pay the price for liberty.
Jefferson died 50 years to the day after the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, arguably the initial shot of America's first revolution, and less than 40 years before America fought its second revolution — the American Civil War.
In the 150 years since the Civil War, Mr. Jefferson has gotten his wish for continual revolution. Patriots' blood has been spilled during labor disputes, draft riots, civil rights demonstrations and several assassinations (some would even conclude that the blood of tyrants was also spilled). And the tree of liberty still grows and blooms.
Yet, more often than not, both before and since the Civil War, Americans have settled their differences through revolution at the ballot box. Ironically, when Thomas Jefferson was elected president, it was the first time in the history of our nation that there was a peaceful change of authority from one political party to another.
That change of authority came about through a free election. Also noteworthy was that the people of this great nation accepted that change as a matter of course based on the democratic premise of majority rule. Not until the election of 1859 did political strife ignite Americans to engage in armed conflict with one another to settle differences.
Like my daughter used to ask about 10 minutes into a long road trip, "are we there yet?" Are we as a nation at the point where our differences can't be settled peacefully? I don't know, but I'm worried. It is my hope that the smack talk, fighting talk, marching talk and campaign rhetoric will turn to talk about solutions where all sides of the debate are heard and we peacefully come together as a unified nation.
Art Callaham is a Hagerstown resident who writes for The Herald-Mail.
Sure, some on the right will contend that it's all the fault of the Democrats who refuse to cut spending. Others will contend that the left has it correct and that we need to raise revenues. Some, on both sides of this continual debate have thrown their gloves down and raised the rhetoric to "fighting words."
The president, while not campaigning according to his advocates, uses words like "take up the march" and "we must win this fight." On the other side, right-wingers urge supporters to "take back our country." An out-of-control (in my opinion, and yes I still favor a free press) media fuels what has become an angry debate with sound and picture bites of taunts and smack talk leveled and being leveled from and at both sides — sometimes in the same newscast.
The last time I marched and fought it was in a war, and personally I never thought our country belonged to one side or the other — taking it back never crossed my mind because I never thought it (our nation) was taken anywhere.
Young people carry signs and camp out on Wall Street reminiscent of Kent State and freedom demonstrations during the '60s. The government (whoever that happens to be) is to blame for everything. All it takes is for one person to bring a weapon to turn a demonstration into a nightmare; and that person can be from either side, the authorities or the demonstrators. No one wins when violence enters the occasion.
I wanted to write this column about one of the greatest minds of our nation — Thomas Jefferson. I wanted to quote him with hawkish phrases like "the tree of liberty must be refreshed, from time to time, with the blood of patriots and tyrants." The fiery Virginia redhead had a way with words that inspired folks to rally and take powerful actions to secure freedom.
Jefferson was a true revolutionist. However, I was sure that he went on to advocate more peaceful means of revolution other than armed conflict and the literal spilling of blood. I was sure that this great mind had pointed to the ballot box as the ultimate peaceful way to conduct a revolution on a periodic basis. He didn't!
Jefferson's revolution was everything he said it was; to him the revolution was a continual effort, was never fully settled and required the ultimate sacrifice of patriots to pay the price for liberty.
Jefferson died 50 years to the day after the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, arguably the initial shot of America's first revolution, and less than 40 years before America fought its second revolution — the American Civil War.
In the 150 years since the Civil War, Mr. Jefferson has gotten his wish for continual revolution. Patriots' blood has been spilled during labor disputes, draft riots, civil rights demonstrations and several assassinations (some would even conclude that the blood of tyrants was also spilled). And the tree of liberty still grows and blooms.
Yet, more often than not, both before and since the Civil War, Americans have settled their differences through revolution at the ballot box. Ironically, when Thomas Jefferson was elected president, it was the first time in the history of our nation that there was a peaceful change of authority from one political party to another.
That change of authority came about through a free election. Also noteworthy was that the people of this great nation accepted that change as a matter of course based on the democratic premise of majority rule. Not until the election of 1859 did political strife ignite Americans to engage in armed conflict with one another to settle differences.
Like my daughter used to ask about 10 minutes into a long road trip, "are we there yet?" Are we as a nation at the point where our differences can't be settled peacefully? I don't know, but I'm worried. It is my hope that the smack talk, fighting talk, marching talk and campaign rhetoric will turn to talk about solutions where all sides of the debate are heard and we peacefully come together as a unified nation.
Art Callaham is a Hagerstown resident who writes for The Herald-Mail.
