Did they win the hearts and minds of all Americans? Did they win equal rights? Witness Bob Jones University.
Did they win the respect that all people, American or otherwise should receive? Witness Michael Richards and Don Imus.
Why haven’t African Americans, to this day, won the hearts and minds of many Caucasians in America? We all contacted our members of Congress We all marched and protested. We all donated to that one special organization or candidate who was going to level the playing field.
Wealthy people who can afford to run for office on a national level know wealthy people. The candidates are supported, to say the least, by the wealthy people they know and payback’s a b*tch, especially when it comes to the people who supposedly voted for those candidates because they promised to make a positive difference.
There’s a quote attributed to Thomas Jefferson which says, “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.” Those words may or may not have been taken out of context.
I’ve heard Hartmann say something to the affect that Jefferson didn’t really mean what the quote implies and I’ve heard him go on to explain why. Maybe he even put the quote into the proper context.
However, I look at the words, out of context or not, which say, “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.”
I also look at what it does not say.
It does not say, “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with phone calls to your members of Congress” or “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with emails and/or snail mail” or “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with marches and protests.” What I read is “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.” (emphasis mine)
If it isn’t obvious to everyone that we have been under the dictatorship of a small group of wealthy politicians, it may help to recall John Kerry’s concession “blurb” after losing the 2004 presidential election. It was obvious that he just didn’t care.
It’s obvious that, as long as we allow this dictatorship by the wealthy to exist, we will enable a government filled with very talented thespians who just don’t care.
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