|
|
Freedom Action of the Week
Email List Archive
Free-Market.Net's F r e e d o m A c t i o n o f t h e W e e k ------------------------------------------------------------------ Edited by Mary Lou Seymour. To subscribe or unsubscribe to this and other lists, click to: http://www.free-market.net/features/lists/ First week of July: The clock is ticking July 4th is a special holiday for freedom lovers. On Independence Day, we honor that band of revolutionaries, the signers of the Declaration of Independence, who pledged "our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor" to gain independence and freedom for us all. This is _our_ holiday, my friends, just as it is our job to keep that revolutionary spirit alive ... or to fan the dying embers. For many years I have used July 4th to promote the idea, first proposed by Karl Hess when he was editor of the LP News, of handing out (in meatspace or cyberspace) a "New Declaration of Independence," written in today's language. It's a worthy cause to try to get celebrants to take time away from the hot dogs and fireworks and really think about freedom, and perhaps to identify other freedom lovers in your community. As Karl pointed out, many will refuse to sign, saying "it's radical, it's treasonous," just like many did in 1776. But if you even found _one_ freedom lover who would boldly sign, then it was a worthwhile action. For those who are interested in this action, see my Liberty Activist page for July, which has printable versions of several "New Declarations." I also recommend the International Society for Individual Liberty (ISIL) version, by Vincent H. Miller and Jarret B. Wollstein, originally published in May 1992 and revised in January 2000. But this July 4th ,2002, ten months after September 11th "changed us forever," I -- and other freedom lovers across the Net -- feel that the clock is ticking against our efforts to activate that good ol' American revolutionary spirit. See Michael Bragg's "New Look at the Declaration" and Free Kentucky's "We are not 'Free'" for indications of the rising sense of loss and urgency across our land. For an action specifically tied to this sense of loss and urgency, Tom Knapp at Rational Review has a wonderful idea ... "Mourn on the Fourth." It's a national day of protest where participants will do one (or more) of several things: wear a "mourning band" around one arm all day, "drape the front page of their web page in mourning" by changing the background to black, or fly the American flag upside down from their front porch (an upside- down flag is the international symbol of distress). Along the same lines, Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership (JPFO) is promoting the idea of flying the flag upside down, and, saying the "Freedom Pledge" (as mentioned in a prior Action of the Week, "Fly the Flag of Freedom"). So, for this July 4th, we have at least three possible actions we can take to spread the word that the revolutionary spirit is _not_ dead. Not yet. Maybe we will, as Mourn on the Fourth suggests, see each other "next year in Philadelphia." In the meantime, while we still have the chance, let us honor those revolutionaries of our past, and try to find the new revolutionaries for tomorrow. For Freedom! Mary Lou ========================================== Liberty Activists action for July: http://www.free-market.net/rd/955889097.html ISIL's "New Declaration:" http://www.free-market.net/rd/244832828.html "New Look at the Declaration" by Michael Bragg: http://libertyforall.net/2002/archive/new-look.html "Remember this on July 4: We are not 'Free'" by Barry Bright: http://www.free-market.net/rd/349002663.html "Mourn on the Fourth of July" from Rational Review: http://www.free-market.net/rd/243598398.html "The Upside Down Flag" from JPFO: http://www.free-market.net/rd/959229246.html Action of the Week archive: http://www.free-market.net/features/list-archives/activism/maillist.html
In December 2004 this page was modified significantly from its original form for archiving purposes.
, founded in 1995, is now a part of ISIL.
 |