"If ever the hands of man were inspired by a benevolent God to put words on paper, those papers are in this room."
Those are the words that came to me as I stood in the Rotunda of the National Archives and saw, with my own eyes, the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights.
They were so fragile, so faded; you can barely make out Hancock's signature on the Declaration. But there they were, though fragile and faded, proof positive of the ideals of our republic.
As I gazed up at the Capitol this morning, I thought, "This is where dreams go to die." For every Coburn or McClintock there's a Murtha, a Byrd, a Stevens, a Mosely-Braun, a Kennedy. But then I saw the Constitution, the hand-written document from Philadelphia in 1787, and I felt a little "hope and change"--I hope that we can change our government back to one of limited and enumerated powers. It was done once, perhaps we can do it again. I saw the Constitution.
Darren:
ReplyDeleteFor what it's worth, I do sense a sea change. There are more people becoming concerned at what they are hearing from Washington and that is a good first step. It's also telling that some Democrats see Obamacare in its current form as "dead". This tells me that some Democrats are waking up out of this dream and realizing they have bought into a nightmare scenario. It's going to take work. And it's going to take individuals publicly going out on a limb to call for true reform. I am working with the Dallas Area Tea Party, and we are trying to be part of that change. It's happening under the radar, beyond polling data, at local coffee shops and pizza joints. It's parents and kids and grandparents and neighbors coming together and realizing they have been misled and demanding that true change be affected. So when you look at that Document, don't consider the Murthas of this nation-those types of scam artists are a dime a dozen-instead remember the families in the "flyover" states who have been forgotten by Congress. They are the ones that pay the bills and they will be the ones to fight this fight.
"...I hope that we can change our government back to one of limited and enumerated powers"
ReplyDeleteDitto the sentiment
Hey, that's a great post! Do you mind if I quote it on my blog? I promise I'll link it back!
ReplyDeleteNo one reads my blog anyway... except my husband and mother!
Here's the link:
ReplyDeletehttp://modminutes.blogspot.com/2009/06/real-hope-and-change.html
Let me know if you mind and I'll take it down.
Not at all.
ReplyDeleteIf I were looking for the shadow of a higher power cast across human affairs I think the documents you were looking at are better evidence of that presence then the Bible since there's no doubt about their mundane provenance.
ReplyDeleteParting the Red Sea or a worldwide flood are awfully showy but they can't really tax the abilities of a supreme being to any great degree. But engineering governing documents that slant the political landscape against the common human traits that support the idea of might making right? That's tough.