From: Dave Champion Subject: What shall we do? Date: Wed, 6 Jan 1999 11:30:37 -0800 Dear Friends, As many of you know, I have spent many years now studying the law to = determine how "public servants", in the service of my nation, have = managed to transition into people that most Americans avoid like the = plague out of fear or anxiety of the consequences. My journey has been long and fascinating (as well as little painful at = times), but thanks to the hard work of many that have come before me, = today I understand what has happened and why. I will not attempt in = this message to share what I have learned as I'm sure most who are = reading this would not be thrilled to receive an e-mail the length of = "War and Peace". However, I will tell you that there is a solution. The problem is that = it involves people! I often have the opportunity to speak with people = about where our nation is at, and why. I am very cautious not to spout = "my views", (after all, who cares what I think) but to explain what the = law says, and what the courts have held on various issues. While I = strive to keep complex issues "simple" for the novice, I verbally = footnote all relevant arguments so that the listener will understand = that the statements are not mine, but the government's. While a small minority find the issues appalling and challenging, most = are best (and kindly) described as "apathetic". This is disheartening = because the education of our Citizens, and their righteous indignation, = is the best hope of resolving the situation. Ignorance will insure = that, as Justice Harlan stated in Downes v. Bidwell, "radical and = mischievous change" will continue to devastate our formerly great = Republic.=20 I have often been baffled as to why an American would hear the truth = concerning the intentional perversion of the form of government that is = our birthright, as well as the undermining or complete repudiation of = our fundamental rights by the government that ostensibly exists to serve = us, and simply turn a blind eye. I have had, and continue to have, = difficulty understanding why an American would walk away from his/her = birthright with statements such as, "It sounds like it a lot of work to = me", or "I'm too busy to get involved with that". Many who are more = cynical than I, are amused by my naivet=E9. I, like a lot of people, probably suffer from the view that the = situation in which I find myself is something new or different from what = others have experienced, when in fact it is not. In support that = theory, I recently read a historical report that revealed that only = 1.75% of the population of the Colonies actually participated in the = Revolutionary War! And while that statistic is interesting, there is no = reason given to explain "why" the number was so low. While there are = probably a myriad of reasons, basic human nature is probably the largest = factor. I suspect Winston Churchill addressed this issue best when he = said, "Most people, sometime in their lives, stumble across truth. Most = jump up, brush themselves off, and hurry on about their business as if = nothing had happened." It would appear that my lack of understanding as to the actions of my = fellow Citizens (and the resulting frustration) is indeed nothing novel = at all. I can only hope that 220 years later, I'm inspiring more than = 1.75% of those with whom I speak! Of course, it is entirely possible = that among my many flaws is an over abundance of optimism. Dave Champion P.S. Here are some excellent historical quotes that bear upon the topic. "...it does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, = tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people's minds..." -- = Samuel Adams "The evils of tyranny are rarely seen but by him who resists it." -- John Jay "WE ARE APT TO SHUT OUR EYES AGAINST A PAINFUL TRUTH... FOR MY PART, I = AM WILLING TO KNOW THE WHOLE TRUTH; TO KNOW THE WORST; AND TO PROVIDE = FOR IT." -- Patrick Henry "If you will not fight for right when you can easily win without = bloodshed; if you will not fight when your victory will be sure and not = too costly; you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with = all odds against you and only a precarious chance of survival. There may = be even a worse fate. You may have to fight when there is no hope of = victory, because it is better to perish than to live as slaves." - = Winston Churchill "In our country the lie has become not just a moral category, but a = pillar of the state." -- Alexander Solzhenitsyn "To sin by silence when they should protest, makes cowards of men." --Abraham Lincoln "We must pity the poor wretched, timid soul who is too faint-hearted to = resist his oppressors. He sings the song of the dammed: "I can't fight = back; I have too much to lose; I own too much property; I have worked = too hard to get what I have; They will put me out of business if I = resist; I might go to jail; I have my family to think about." Such poor = miserable creatures have misplaced values and are hiding their cowardice = behind pretended family responsibility - blindly refusing to see that = the most glorious legacy that one can bequeath to posterity is liberty; = and that the only true security is liberty." -- Marvin Cooley. "If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquillity of servitude = better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. = We ask not your counsels nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hands = which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you and may posterity = forget that ye were our countrymen." -- Samuel Adams ">It is not the function of our Government to keep the citizen from = >falling into error; it is the function of the citizen to keep the = >Government from falling into error." U.S. Supreme Court in >American Communications Association v. Douds, 339 = U.S. 382, 442 --WebTV-Mail-1633257931-488--