| Back OpEdNews | |||||||
|
Original Content at https://www.opednews.com/articles/FDR-s-Second-Amendment-Ri-by-Mary-MacElveen-100418-270.html (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). |
|||||||
April 18, 2010
FDR's "Second Bill of Rights' speak for me and not the Tea Party movement
By Mary MacElveen
Yes, yes, yes, your movement is all about selfishness and NOT the good of this country. It is NOT about WE THE PEOPLE, but your rights solely.
::::::::
In my opinion a tea party is where a group of people can come together to discuss anything in a civil manner, unlike the group which has been pervasively in our news cycle as of late. It is at this time, I truly want all of my readers to listen to President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Second Bill of Rights which was originally broadcasted on January 11th, 1944.
In regards to the Tea Party Movement, I feel as if FDR was speaking to them from beyond the ages when he said: "Our fighting men abroad- and their families at home- expect such a program and have the right to insist upon it. It is to their demands that this Government should pay heed rather than to the whining demands of selfish pressure groups who seek to feather their nests while young Americans are dying." In my humble opinion, the "whining demands of selfish pressure groups" fully defines this modern-day Tea Party Movement.
Yes, yes, yes, your movement is all about selfishness and NOT the good of this country. It is NOT about WE THE PEOPLE, but your rights solely.
The program that FDR wished for all of us was called his "Second Bill of Rights" and listed below were its high-lights.
The right to a useful and remunerative job in the industries or shops or farms or mines of the Nation;
The right to earn enough to provide adequate food and clothing and recreation;
The right of every farmer to raise and sell his products at a return which will give him and his family a decent living;
The right of every businessman, large and small, to trade in an atmosphere of freedom from unfair competition and domination by monopolies at home or abroad;
The right of every family to a decent home;
The right to adequate medical care and the opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health;
The right to adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident, and unemployment;
The right to a good education.
All of these rights spell security. And after this war is won we must be prepared to move forward, in the implementation of these rights, to new goals of human happiness and well-being.
While this program he laid out sounds highly socialistic, let me remind my readers he was a four term president who died late within his fourth term. My guess is that the majority of Americans agreed with his stance and philosophy.
But, it is this one comment which was cited by the late president that rang all but true to me: "For unless there is security here at home there cannot be lasting peace in the world."
The Tea Party Movement and all of its bravado have been sending a dangerous signal world wide displaying our insecurity to those who oppose us. As Sarah Palin urges her followers within this movement to "cling to their guns" or say "reload", those words only breed insecurity. Especially as we come upon the fifteenth anniversary of the OKC bombing.
Not wishing to sound so graphic here, but Al Qaeda, must be laughing at this country as the Tea Party Movement protest so angrily and say: "We have got them from the short hairs." I even hate saying that in any editorial where I reference the late President Franklin D. Roosevelt. But, I just had to.
To the Tea Party Movement exactly where was your voice in the past as you allowed the Bush administration to sink us further into debt? In looking at FDR'S program: Wouldn't you wish that for every single American? If the answer to that is no: Can God even forgive you?
When the collapse of Wall Street took place in 2008: Where were you then? It was only when it came to spending money on health care for all Americans did it get your dander up.
To the Tea Party Movement as I look upon FDR's proposed Second Bill of Rights and listen to your rhetoric, how I wish he had lived to see that day when it was enacted. The way I see it now is that you are all the guardians of corporate America.
Author's email address is, xmjmac@optonline.net
Copyrighted material: Should you wish to use any portion of this column, please email the author for permission.