Liberty may be
endangered by the abuse of liberty,
but also by the abuse of power.
—James Madison, fourth President of the United States
but also by the abuse of power.
—James Madison, fourth President of the United States
Promoting active
liberty does not mean allowing the majority to run roughshod over minorities. It calls for taking special care that all groups have a chance
to fully
participate in society and the political process.
—
Ruth Bader Ginsburg, U.S. Supreme Court Justice
Having just
celebrated the 4th of July we took time to recognize the birth of
our nation and the concept of liberty. As Madison and the framers of the
Constitution stated in the Bill of Rights, liberty means that individuals have
rights and that no majority should be able to take them away.
Right Arm (from Alcatraz Island)
While
watching fireworks “bursting in air,” and now with the nomination of a new
Supreme Court justice, thoughts of these rights: freedom of religion, freedom
of speech, a free press, the right of petition, assembly, privacy, due process
and equality before the law are worth reconsidering.
Are all US
citizens able to “participate in society and the political process,” or is the
current majority party seeking to undermine these principles for its own
political and financial gain?
In his 2012 presidential nomination acceptance speech Barak Obama reminded the country “that our destinies are bound together; that a freedom which only asks what's in it for me, a freedom without a commitment to others, a freedom without love or charity or duty or patriotism, is unworthy of our founding ideals, and those who died in their defense.”
Right Arm
Taxes ramped
up —shots rang out—a
revolution began.
No army—no
banks—no credit.
The king bowed—the
king plundered—treaties
hit the deck.
A right arm was
given.
Not for
land—not for morality—
from the
north and south a cry went out—dignity shackled—
tethered
to terror.
An identity
struggled to emerge.
Freedom wrestled
with dollars.
A right arm
was given.
An archduke
fell—submarines fired—a world
made safe for democracy.
Pacifists, pessimists,
neutralists gathered at
the gates of war.
Munitions
were drawn—warships were launched—profits were
deposited.
A right arm was given.
A fleet caught off guard—atrocities emerged—madmen seized the day.
A sleeping
giant woke from its slumber.
Power, greed and barbarity rose with the morning sun.
A mushroom
cloud left it all in its wake,
foreshadowing
the future of a planet in peril.
A right arm
was given.
No battle
lines—no common tongue—towers
tumbled—gas filled the air.
Ideologies
clashed—liberty wrapped itself with
suspicion and inherent resolve.
A boat
bobbed on the horizon filled with
hope for a new day
only to be
capsized by fear of the other—
compassion
lost in the mist.
A right
arm was given.
Jeff Key’s work can also be seen at:
