Wrongly, I accused @Sinnersaint39 of not liking me. This was a cop out, and a BAD move in a debate. It has nothing to do with like or dislike. I was simply wrong.
2) The truth is we just disagree, and she may well be right, I may well be wrong. To lay out the disagreement, here's my question. What does this image mean?
3) First, I say, this is MY OWN DAMNED RIGHT FIST. It's mine. I am right handed. If I'm going to fight with you, as in literally fight, it is that fist you will face. Okay. I'm a swordsman. There's a good chance it'll be my sword, not my fist. Or...
4) Or, it'll be a handgun, a shotgun, or a long rifle. I absolutely believe in bringing a gun to a knife fight. I am a fighter. I've never employed violence in my fights, so far. Sadly, that day may come. No matter. I debate, and @Sinnersaint39 rightly defeated me. Honor to her!
5) So what's this fight actually about? It's about a symbol. One of the most powerful symbols of the past, let's guess, 150 years or so. It is the raised fist. You saw my own fist above. Here's the classic one.
6) Isn't it interesting that the classic image is of a LEFT fist? Let me tell you, these people know what they're doing! Iconography is absolutely a part of Psyop mastery. They have taken and owned the left fist of mankind. We must honor them for that.
7) Here's an example. You should send your children to a public school - paid for by taxes and run by the government - so that they can be instructed in Communist values. Governments prefer Communism to freedom. It's natural. They love power.
8) So, they brilliantly say to themselves, why don't we take their hands? Let's make the hand, the fist, the symbol of Communism. Let's ensure that anyone who's ready to fight is fighting for Communism. The fist. We own it.
9) Now something very important has to be raised here. Why do we let them do it? We're capitalists. We believe in true freedom. We believe in the rights of:
1) Life 2) Liberty 3) The Pursuit of Happiness 4) Property
10) So, since I believe in those four great rights, I ask this. Why is NOT MY hand, my right fist, an adequate symbol to represent what I'll fight for? Here's my hand again. I'll fight for my life, my liberty, my happiness, my property. I'm an American.
11) I am NOT saying this is the correct symbol for our cause. It has been so sullied by the left that perhaps it can never be retrieved. I respect those who feel so. But I'm NOT okay with it. My fist is mine. Your fist is yours. What will YOU fight for? That's a real question.
12) I AM saying...why do we grant them this power? How do THEY get to determine what symbols mean? How are they the big dogs, and we the small ones? I am NOT okay with that. Why is their fist more powerful than mine? I am not okay with that.
13) I have a theory. They're smarter than we are. They work harder than we do. Honor to them. Since 1848 when the Communist Manifesto was published, they've been living up to its mandates. I honor and respect, and absolutely fear them for that.
14) But here's what I do NOT surrender to. They have NO right to symbols. We have EVERY right that they have. And my fist, my own damned fist, it represents what I say it represents. NOT what they say it represents. Listen:
What will Pasquale fight for?
That's a question.
15) So, when I show you my right fist, be ready. It means I'm ready to fight.
I wish I was better at research. There is a video clip, it has to be out there, and I want it but can't find it. It's from the phenomenal show Yellowstone. Rip is speaking to the boy.
2) None of us deserve the opportunities we're granted. They show up, unannounced and unearned. Then, we either show up or we don't. The only way to "earn" an opportunity is to show up for it after it arrives. You just have to show up. You still don't deserve it.
3) Why don't you deserve your opportunities? Because of all those who came before, who fought and bled and died for all you have available to you. I didn't fight in World War II, did you? What if Hitler hadn't been defeated? What about Hirohito, Mussolini? Did you defeat them?
2) The image above is NOT a worldly image. It is not cynical. It is not sophisticated. There is a famous Democrat attack against fly-over country Republicans, as being smelly Walmart customers. I am a proud, smelly Walmart customer.
3) I know that Walmart itself, as a corporation, is compromised. I know it is a retail outlet for Made In China products. Slowly, I'm learning to look for such products and NOT buy them. But Walmart is bigger than its corporate bigwigs. It is part of true America.
2) I had never heard of Tucker before, so I've spent good parts of the past two days correcting that gap in my learning. It is what I've found in his work and life story that inspires today's meditation. I begin below with an extended quote...
3) "Whilst we were offering up vows at the shrine of Liberty, and sacrificing hecatombs upon her altars; whilst we swore irreconcilable hostility to her enemies, and hurled defiance in their faces;
In each segment of this analysis I'll provide the 21 ideas, and the 6 points that contain. Today's focus will be on the 2nd point. Recognition will always be given to @shestokas, my teacher.
2) Here's the list:
1) Hold 2) Truths 3) Self-Evident 4) Men 5) Created 6) Equal 7) Endowed 8) Creator 9) Unalienable 10) Rights 11) Life 12) Liberty 13) Pursuit Of Happiness 14) Secure 15) Governments 16) Instituted 17) Deriving 18) Just 19) Powers 20) Consent 21) Governed
3) The first three points:
1) We hold these truths to be self-evident 2) That all men are created equal 3) That they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights
I'll give you the list immediately below. I have to give credit to @shestokas for being my constant teacher. He will soon be Attorney General of the Great State of Illinois. Get ready for change.
3) From our Declaration of Independence, Dave has chosen 55 words which he calls the American Creed. I completely agree with him. These words are why America was formed. It's what our forefathers fought for. These ideas founded our nation.