Classic Liberal Blog

Today, it seems just about everyone is blinded by "the One," Barack Obama.  Want higher taxes?  "Yes!" they chant together in unison.  Want bigger government?  "As big as it can be!" the crowds proclaim with jubilation, ridding themselves of even the faintest thought about their own American heritage.  The Democratic Party vice presidential candidate Joe Biden recently trumpeted:

"It's time to be patriotic . . . time to jump in, time to be part of the deal, time to help get America out of the rut."

Is Senator Joe Biden and the rest of the disciples of Obamaism correct?  Is paying taxes "patriotic?" Well ... if history and heritage mean anything (which they do), the answer is a resounding "NO!"

Does anybody remember the Revolution?

The American Revolution didn't rise out of a grand conspiracy, nor was it even an organized plot.  It sprang from the ever-increasing encroachment of the English government.  As the early settlers grew accustomed to their new homeland, they built towns and churches, while farming grain, tobacco and cattle, a new society and culture was born.  They comfortably still considered themselves "Englishmen," and overall were happy with their colonial life.  But that was soon to change.

By the 1700's, the American culture had become uniquely its own, shaped by the economic, social and political conditions they experienced in the colonies.  The royal governors of England increasingly complained of the colonists "unruly behavior," while the colonists themselves grew evermore impatient with the governments expanding regulatory restraints.  The Navigation Act become a real sore spot.  This piece of legislation stated that only British ships could be used transport imported and exported goods, and that the colonists could only trade with the British.

Not thrilled with these arbitrary rules, the colonists ignored the laws of England, sought new trading partners, and "smuggled" their goods in order to trade on their own.  King George III and his government, were already bogged down in war, and unable to keep a close eye on the colonies.  As the war finished, England needed a way to recoup their war costs, and increase their control over the colonial governments.

If this sounds familiar, it's because as the Democrats continuing their plot to take control of the entire federal government next week, Senator Barney Frank has declared (emphasis added):

"I think there are some very rich people out there whom we can tax at a point down the road and recover some of this money."

English tax collectors already were having trouble collecting taxes.  With the growing resistance against them, they had trouble collecting England's taxes, were often ridiculed and even tarred and feathered - literally! In 1763, thirteen years after Patrick Henry said "no taxation without representation" which was later coined by Reverend Jonathan Mayhew in a sermon, England passed and levied the Sugar Act.  This piece of legislation banned importating rum and French wine. It also taxed foreign refined sugar, increased the tax on coffee, indigo, various kinds of wine, and of course tea, which had become a staple of American life.

In 1765, England levied the Stamp Act, requiring the American colonists to pay a tax on every single piece of printed paper, including ship's papers, legal documents, licenses, newspapers, and anything and everything paper related - including playing cards! Sounds just like today, doesn't it?  England also started aggressively cracking-down on the so-called "smugglers" who refused to pay the King's ransom, and two years later, it levied the Townshend Act, with further taxation and regulatory increases on the American colonies.  With this, regular demonstrations in the streets by the colonists, sometimes turning into violent riots became a growing trend.

 

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In the mean time, Patrick Henry, a new member of the House of Burgesses took up a radical by proposing his own Stamp Act Resolutions (often considered the spark that ignited the Revolution).  These "treasonous" Resolutions passed by the House of Burgesses, declared that colonists were entitled, to all liberties, privileges, and immunities of the natural subjects of His Majesty, that the taxation of the people should be of themselves or their representatives, and that the government power of policy and taxation, is derived only from the people's consent.

The tensions between the Big Government of England and the individualist colonies continued to escalate.  In Boston Massachusetts, on March 5, 1770 a British soldier had his hair cut by a barber's young apprentice on King Street.  When the boy demanded payment for his services, the soldier hit the boy ... and word spread quick!

The colonists, already angered by the heavy-hand of British rule, taxation, and occupation of their colonies, so they didn't take this lightly.  The townspeople gathered, throwing snowballs in the streets, while others came from all around to stand against the British soldiers.

Captain Thomas Preston, Officer of the British Army called his 29th Regiment into action.  Men from the docks, led by sailor Crispus Attucks, ran to King Street armed with clubs.  The snowball throwing crowd had begun to circle the British soldiers, but no violence between them had yet broke out ... until ... one of the snowballs hit one of the British soldiers.  Then in the blink of an eye, the soldiers then opened fire, shooting blindly into the crowd!

They killed 3 Americans instantly, sailor Crispus Attucks being the first, and eight others were severely wounded.  Of the eight survivors, two died shortly afterward of gunshot wounds.  The British had blood on their hands.

Eerily similar to Chicago's "Boss" Daley's attack on the people at the 1968 Democratic National Convention, isn't it?

The American colonists continued their refusal to pay the taxes and levies imposed by the King's Parliament in which they had no representation.  So the British government devised a plan.  They gave the struggling East India Company a monopoly on the importing tea to America, and reduced the tax on the tea colonists would pay.  Knowing tea, being a staple of American life, they figured with the lower price, the colonists would just pay the tax so they could on drinking their tea.

Not so fast! The people of the American colonies felt differently.  Paying the tax would legitimize the Parliament's right to tax them. So when the East India Company sent their vessels across the ocean to deliver shipments of tea to Philadelphia and New York, the colonists wouldn't allow them to land.  In Charleston they allowed the ships to dock, but their cargo was confiscated and consigned to warehouses where it sat for three years, until the Patriots sold it to help fund the Revolutionary War.

In 1773, three more East India ships carrying tea entered the Boston Harbor, agitating the people until some 7,000 gathered near the wharf were the ships had docked.  A mass meeting was held at the Old South Meeting House and resolved that the tea ships would leave the harbor at once - without paying any tax. But the Collector of Customs refused ...

A group of workers and tradesmen had formed a group they called "The Loyal Nine," in opposition of the Stamp Act. The group had to meet in secret and hide their existence from British authority, but their actions quickly attracted like-minded individuals, and these groups soon started springing up all throughout the colonies.  As their numbers continued to increase, they became known as the "Sons of Liberty!"

When the tea ships refused to leave without collecting their taxes, about 200 members of the "Sons of Liberty," many disguised as Mohawk Indians, gathered on a nearby hill.  They began with loud war chants, then descended upon the wharf marching two-by-two.  They climbed aboard the three ships, intentionally not damaging the ship or its rigging, and went for the cargo.  Grabbing the chests filled with tea, they slashed them open, making sure the tea would be fully exposed to the water.  From there, they proceeded to dump the entire cargo of all 3 ships, into the harbor.

The next morning, after disposing the cargoes of tea, they found considerable quantities of it still floating about. So a number of citizens rowed small boats into the harbor, and beat the remaining bags of tea with their oars, until the tea had been soaked and useless.

This courageous act, known as the "Boston Tea Party," is one of the most important events in the history of our American culture - a tipping point. Just two years later, the military governor of Massachusetts, General Thomas Gage, sent his forces out to confiscate weapons that were already stored by the Patriots, and to capture leaders Samuel Adams and John Hancock, who were thought to be in Lexington at the time. Word of Gage's intentions quickly spread.

The Patriots moved to set-up a messaging system to alert the countryside. Paul Revere arranged for a signal to be sent by lantern from the steeple of North Church - one if by land, two if by sea. And on the night of April 18, 1775 the lantern's alarm sent Revere and other riders on the road to spread the news - the British were coming!

Every house was quickly awakened, as church bells rang and the beating of drums and gun shots alerted all about what was happening. Somewhere between 50 and 70 militiamen lined up in battle formation as the sound of the "Redcoats" approaching became louder and louder ... then sure enough, early the next morning on April 19, 1775, the British troops emerged from the morning fog ... and "the shot heard 'round the world," began the birth of a new, free nation!

This should give you a clear understanding of why the right to bear arms is so important.

Think about your American heritage, and why our forebears fought so hard to give us a limited-government, before you go to the voting booth in just a few days.  Stop ... and take a moment to consider how these brave men and women would react to Joe Biden's definition of patriotism.  Then please, ask yourself how our forbears would feel about Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, who says:

"I think we can say that the Constitution reflected an enormous blind spot in this culture that carries on until this day, and that the framers had that same blind spot."

That "blind spot" Obama perceives ... is Big Government, just like King George III's.

Interesting Facts:

• In 1776, Americans enjoyed the highest standard of living in the Western World!
• Also in 1776, Americans had the lowest taxes in the Western World too!
• Crispus Attucks, the patriot and sailor who played an important role in the "Boston Tea Party," was a free black man.

 

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