Monday, July 4, 2011

The Founding Fathers Were Liberals!


Liberally taken from HERE.
Conservatives across the country are pretending to be patriotic. Liberals on the other hand are celebrating the biggest achievement that appears on their resume’: the founding of America and its government. You see, the Founding Fathers were, and always will be, liberals. And here are seven reasons why.
1. ... the Declaration of Independence, [is] the basis for universal human rights, which liberals wholeheartedly support. Today’s conservatives are more interested in stripping away human rights, and have fought relentlessly to repeal rights from women, religious groups, and minorities.

2. Conservatives always claim that liberals are the supporters of big government. Well, the Founding Fathers also supported big government. Oh sure, they tried small government at one point but The Articles of Confederation didn’t cut it. ... They met in secret in 1787 and wrote the Constitution which created a bigger, stronger central government. Conservatives would call that growing the government.

3. Within the Constitution, the Founders gave power to the Congress to levy taxes as necessary. The Founding Fathers never had an issue with taxes. On the contrary, the founding generation waged the American Revolution because they felt that they were not properly represented in the British Parliament....

4. The Founding Fathers made it possible for us to change the Constitution when necessary. That is the beauty of the document. But Republicans are only lobbying to change the Constitution so that only the original document applies. They would repeal most of the amendments and many of the rights. Liberals on the other hand are all about change for the better and seek to perfect the Constitution which is what the Founders intended.

5. Republicans have claimed time and time again that health care mandates and government run health care is unconstitutional. They have also consistently slammed liberals for being the ones that introduce such programs and laws. What they fail to recognize is that health care mandates and government run health care dates all the way back to the Founding Fathers. In 1798, John Adams signed the very first health care mandate into law...

6. Republicans are currently owned by corporations. They have not only defended corporations but have worked tirelessly to push corporate sponsored legislation through Congress. The Founding Fathers feared this kind of relationship and viewed corporations with suspicion and largely kept them at arms length. In fact, one reason the founding generation went to war with Britain is because of the influence that the East India Trading Company had on the British Parliament. A corporation even once governed Massachusetts on behalf of England...Unlike today, however, corporations were only permitted to exist 20 or 30 years and could only deal in one commodity, could not hold stock in other companies, and their property holdings were limited to what they needed to accomplish their business goals. And perhaps the most important facet of all this is that most states in the early days of the nation had laws on the books that made any political contribution by corporations a criminal offense. ...Here is some advice from Thomas Jefferson that all Americans should take to heart.
“I hope that we shall crush in its birth the aristocracy of our monied corporations, which dare already to challenge our government to a trial of strength, and bid defiance to the laws of our country.”

7. Separation of church and state is not just a liberal concept, the Founding Fathers made it part of America’s sacred foundation. Freedom of Religion was not included in the Constitution just to protect Christianity. Freedom of Religion protects ALL religions, even if you do not practice any religion at all. The idea that a wall between church and state doesn’t exist is absurd and the idea that the Founders meant America to be a Christian state is equally absurd...
So there we have it.  The Founding Fathers were Liberals.  If republicans are going to invoke the Founding Fathers, they should at least follow their principles.

3 comments:

  1. OUTSTANDING post, Jerry! It is fully accurate, and I couldn't possibly agree more with every point!

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  2. ". . . most states in the early days of the nation had laws . . . that made any political contribution by corporations a criminal offense."

    Sometimes I think most of my fellow Americans have forgotten more than they ever knew about our democracy. And many of the rest have been just plain ignorant all along.

    Re: No. 7. Watch out for that one. You're likely to be met with a chorus chanting, "No, America was founded as a Christian nation — I believe, I believe!" What really sets this demonstration of belief off is the fingers in ears. :)

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  3. really guys? Lets not forget the Dems and the union money. Both parties suck but I do not beleive either party is doing malicious things on purpose. I do not believe any of the crap in here about republicans just like I do not believe any of the crap I hear about the Dems. Talking points. Does any one really believe the republicans want dirty air and water and want to take away peoples rights? grow up.

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