The Sheepdog's Sheepdog

Posted By Blackfive

"We mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor." - from the Declaration of Independence

I have a tradition on the 4th of July.

It's not an old tradition quite yet.

I get up in the early watches (before the kids get up and spoil the silence with arguing who has the most pancakes or they ask me to settle "The Great Crayon Dispute"), and pour a large cup of coffee.

And I read Bill Whittle's "Freedom" essay:

...The American Revolution surely is unique in the sense that its ringleaders -- Washington, Jefferson, Adams, Franklin, Hamilton, etc -- were men of property, wealth and prestige; in other words, men with something to lose. Compare this to any other revolution in history, where the ringleaders were outsiders; plotters staring in through the windows of prosperity, powerless. The Russian Revolution, French Revolution, etc -- these were joined by desperate people fighting mind-numbing poverty and severe political repression.

And yet the Founding Fathers were men who were as well-off as any men on earth at the time, and furthermore, any of them could have been (and were) political leaders under His Majesty's government. The average colonial farmer likewise led a life far more comfortable than those of his cousins in Europe, to say nothing of Asia or Africa.

For all practical intents and purposes, these people had absolutely nothing to gain, and everything in the world to lose, by taking on the greatest military force the world had ever known. Why would they do this? What possible motivation could well-off, comfortable people have? Militarily, they seemed certain to lose, and they knew before they started -- and Patrick Henry made that abundantly clear -- that they would be hanged as common criminals if they failed.

Of course, the answer is, they did it to be free. And they did it to make the rest of their nation -- the poor, the disenfranchised -- free as well. And it is clear as crystal from their collective writings that they took that risk to make Noam Chomsky and Michael Moore and the rest of us in their unseen posterity free, too. They could look down the dim, moonlit riverbanks of the future and see a society worthy of their sacrifice and determination. They knew that God, (or for me, chance perhaps) had put them together in a time and place where bold, courageous action, followed by much suffering, doubt, blood and fear could, perhaps, unleash in mankind an energy source the likes of which they could not imagine...

All of his essays are unique and powerful.  History, Tribes and Freedom are among my favorites.  Do yourself a favor and read them (again).  They put our times and issues in context with history in a personal and spiritual way.

A few years ago, back when Jimbo was a Commenter instead of planning world domination through Blackfive, he left this note:

What a joy. Reading Bill is like watching my thoughts reach their true potential. He grabs the deepest core of why we are and then travels the world with the idea. I bought my Dad his book right after finishing it just to pay him some tribute.

My first foray into the Blogosphere was in 2002 when a pal wrote me, "Matt, you have to check this out." with a link and I pulled up Eject! Eject! Eject! on my computer.  Not only were there amazing essays but one of the greatest collection of rogues Sheepdogs the world has ever known (the first being the Founding Fathers).  Some from those early days are not blogging anymore, some have been beaten down and quit - others found other things to do, and some are still at it (right Pinch?). 

Blackfive may be the inspiration for some to start blogging to make a difference. 

Bill Whittle was mine.

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Comments

[JJ]

A week or so ago, I said that I supported this war because I knew it was the right thing to do. What I didn't know is WHY I supported it. I went on to say that before I cast my vote in November, I wanted to know why I support this war (that sounds as stupid now as it did then).

Now...I know why.

Thank you - for everything.

[Ymarsakar]

A few years ago, back when Jimbo was a Commenter instead of planning world domination through Blackfive,

Impossible to imagine.

[DonRodrigo]

I have been on the same wave length as this Bill Whittle for some time. Forgive me if I'm not familiar with Mr. Whittle, although I may have read some of his stuff unwittingly. I love the essay above.

In any case, I've realized for some time that our forebears rebelled not because they "never had it so bad," but because they "never had it so good," and King George was threatening to ruin that. It is this sense of American uniqueness that is in danger of being forgotten in the downside of the rush towards "globalism."

When you even have Supreme Court Justices like that Ass-hat Kennedy insisting we must harmonize with Europe, you know we've got a problem.

[Cincinnati_Bob]

Why even post headlines like this "Obama May Consider Slowing Iraq Withdrawal"

Why not just say "Obama will consider virtually any position which he believes will get him more votes at that particular moment in time", and then keep that at the top of the page in news.google and the rest of the 'news' websites. Then avoid printing any other Obama stories on any other subjects since they will all be translated to the above anyway. It would save a lot of time and money.

[Tantor]

The observation that the American revolutionaries were successful men of property is a pretty point. The socialist and communist revolutionaries of the 20th century were for the most part, poor losers. Che was a failed medical student and Fidel was a failed lawyer. Hitler was a failed artist, Goering a drug addict, Himmler a failed chicken farmer, Heydrich a failed naval officer.

The difference between the American Revolution and the socialist/communist revolutions is that ours was a conservative revolution while theirs were liberal revolutions. The American Revolution was fought to preserve the rights every Englishman enjoyed but which were denied to American colonists, like the right to representation if taxed.

The socialist/communist revolutions were fought to overturn the existing order. While they promised a better future to subjects who would support them, individual rights were not part of the commie program. The state had all the rights. The irony of such liberal revolutions is that they are sold to the public as a solution to the tyranny of the existing regime, yet deliver a greater tyranny.

For example, far more people were executed by the Communists who took over Russia than by the Tsar they deposed. Likewise, far more people were executed by Khomeini than by the Shah he chased out of Iran. Liberal revolutionaries also implement far more powerful secret police agencies than their predecessors.

Another vast difference between conservative and liberal revolutions is that the conservative revolutionaries know how to create wealth, while liberal revolutionaries do not. America prospered after its Revolution while socialist/communist revolutions always plunge their conquests into poverty.

[Miss Ladybug]

DonRodrigo~

I'm a fan of Whittle, but had somehow missed the "Freedom" essay (I found his site about 3 years ago, long after it had been written). A while back, I posted links to my favorites from him. Then, in January of this year, he wrote something new I thought should also be shared. Hope that makes it easier for you to read up on him. I will warn you, though - you'll need to have a fair amount of time to read it all. However, I think it is well worth it!

[douglas]

I may have to add that to my Independence day traditions. If you're in the L.A. area, may I recommend my recent tradition. I do the JP Blecksmith Memorial 5k run in San Marino. It's a great place to start the day, honoring the memory of a fallen warrior, and among a bunch of people with the right attitude and appreciation of the holiday. Maybe next year I'll actually train for it.

[Cincinnati_Bob]

Tantor. Great stuff. One could probably provide a entire novel worth of human catastrophes that were proceeded by major liberal societal events. Like gun control.