From Everlasting to Everlasting
Sam Aurelius Milam III
In
response to my article Reality
Control, in the July issue of this newsletter, Sir Donald the Elusive
sent to me two newspaper clippings. One clipping was from the Wall
Street Journal for July 3, 2008. The other was from the San
Jose Mercury News for July 4, 2008.
The
clipping from the Wall Street Journal presented a book review, Bookshelf,
by Marc Leepson. The book that was reviewed was The Fourth of
July and the Founding of America, by Peter de Bolla.
The
title of the book is a bad start. America wasn't founded on the fourth
of July. America wasn't founded on any date. America grew into
existence over the years as people came to this continent and they and
their descendants built better lives for themselves here. The unrecognized
truth that's denied by the title of the book is that there's a difference
between America and the United States of America. The United States
of America is a political entity, a government. America is a place,
an idea, a culture, a body of beliefs, and so forth. The United States
of America, the present one, has been here for about 219 years. America
has been here for something like 500 years, give or take a few decades
according to when you think its identity began to emerge. Whatever
the exact numbers are, it's a dismal error to confuse America with the
United States of America. I'm an American. I'm not a U.S. citizen.
America is my homeland. The United States of America, the government,
is my enemy.
As
the book was presented in the review, it wasn't of much interest to me
except to the extent that it appears to be a compilation of some of the
historical errors and misconceptions that are held by most of the people
in this country.
In
his review, Mark Leepson placed himself among those who are in error.
Near the beginning of his review, he stated, "Adams was speaking about
the red-letter day when the Continental Congress voted to declare America's
independence from Britain. That memorable event when the United
States of America was born occurred on July 2, 1776...." So, he
attempted to correctly note the date but neglected to mention that it wasn't
this United States of America that was born then. It wasn't the United
States of America that existed prior to this one. It was the United
States of America that existed before that one, the one that issued the
Declaration
of independence. That United States of America wasn't even a
nation. It was a union of independent nations. Notice, in the
Declaration
of Independence, the careful use of plural and singular descriptions
of the colonies as independent states versus the state
of Great Britain.
We,
therefore, the representatives of the United States of America, in General
Congress, assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the
rectitude of our intentions, do, in the name, and by the authority of the
good people of these colonies, solemnly publish and declare, that these
united colonies are, and of right ought to be free and independent states;
that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that
all political connection between them and the state of Great Britain, is
and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as free and independent
states, they have full power to levy war, conclude peace, contract alliances,
establish commerce, and to do all other acts and things which independent
states may of right do. And for the support of this declaration,
with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually
pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.
from the Declaration of Independence
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September 2008 |
Frontiersman, c/o
4984 Peach Mountain Drive, Gainesville, Georgia 30507 |
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