“Then he decided to act.” That’s the third sentence in the author’s note on the opening pages of Glenn Beck’s new book “Common Sense.” He’s writing there about British citizen Thomas Paine, who had moved to the colonies in the early 1770s, worked hard for two years, and watched as “his fellow colonists grew tired of British oppression.”
Paine published a pamphlet that made the case for revolution. He called it Common Sense. Beck writes:
“Today we find ourselves back in 1776-but this time our path forward isn’t so clear-cut. The abuses being perpetrated by our government are just as obvious now as they were then, but instead of rising up with a collective voice, we sit idly by and watch as our hard-won freedoms slowly dissolve into a puddle of apathy, political correctness, and outright corruption.”
Beck sees both political parties as the problem – and regular readers of this website know we concur on that point. More on that in a bit.
Beck says we must use the non-violent weapons of democracy and set out to win the hearts and minds of our fellow Americans. What’s needed, he says, is –
– “someone willing to say the things that need to be said.”
Beck quotes Martin Luther King, Jr.:
“The hottest place in Hell is reserved for those who remain neutral in times of great moral conflict.”
That’s certainly bad news for those suffering from “moralityphobia.” Writers for this website do not suffer from that ailment.
“If you understand the threat to the Republic,” Beck writes, it is your duty to wake up your neighbors…” He acknowledges that the problem for many people (me included) is that we’re not by nature political activists.
The first step, Beck says, is for us to step out “of our comfort zone” and act. If you don’t like our country’s transition into “a system based on entitlements and handouts,” you’re going to have to do something about it – become an American capable of maintaining a Republic. Beck asks:
“Are there enough citizens willing to do the hard work that self-rule requires, or have we become a people who would rather be cared for, fed, clothed, housed, and told what’s best for us by a parentlike state?”
Our collective inaction has been insanity, Beck says, equaled by the insanity of our politicians’ actions. We can’t hope that just putting a different party in power will change things. “We must try something new: peaceful yet pointed action,” he writes.
Glenn Beck is correct that both political parties “have been infected with progressivism” – and concludes by saying that what he has written is only “a starting point.” Americans need to learn more about their country, “and what needs to be done to put her back on course.”
Some people ask whether it’s worth the effort to try and save the GOP rather than start a third party. One person says it this way: It’s our Party – why should we let them have it?
What we actually need is a good second party. Both efforts – the creating of an effective third party or a right-thinking second party will require the work of a great many people who as of yet haven’t stepped into the politicalparty arena.
And since there are actually many good Republicans, it’s simpler to take it back from the failures, creeps, and “RINOs” (Republicans in Name Only). I’d encourage you to read the GOP’s national platform here. It isn’t perfect, but it’s damn good.
“TEA Party” protests and speaking out at town hall meetings are great – but political activism without a ballot line isn’t going to get you anywhere. Follow the links found here and here to learn more.
Buy Glenn Beck’s book and read it all – it is a great starting point. Then – we need all those TEA Party folks and other concerned Americans to join the Renaissance. There are countless ways to engage. For example, now is the time to circulate petitions to run for Republican Precinct Committeeman, the office that can serve as a building block for a new Republican Party.
The Declaration of Independence says our founding fathers declared the causes which impelled them to separation. We must likewise be impelled into action. I’ll give Glenn Beck the last word (fyi – the capitalization is his):
“DO NOT WAIT FOR OTHERS TO SAY AND DO THE THINGS YOU FEEL. The American Republic will not be swept into the dustbin of history if good men come forward now.”
Click here to purchase Glenn Beck’s book “Common Sense.”