good advice then; good advice now

Discussion in 'Political Opinions & Beliefs' started by Sirius Black, Jul 19, 2012.

  1. Sirius Black

    Sirius Black Well-Known Member

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    from "Declaration of Conscience"

    Statement of Senator Margaret Chase Smith, June 1, 1950
    I would like to speak briefly and simply about a serious national condition.. It is a condition that comes from the lack of effective leadership in either the Legislative Branch or the Executive Branch of our Government...
    I speak as a Republican, I speak as a woman. I speak as a United States Senator. I speak as an American...
    I think that it is high time that we remembered that we have sworn to uphold and defend the Constitution. I think that it is high time that we remembered; that the Constitution, as amended, speaks not only of the freedom of speech but also of trial by jury instead of trial by accusation...
    Those of us who shout the loudest about Americanism in making character assassinations are all too frequently those who, by our own words and acts, ignore some of the basic principles of Americanism -- The right to criticize; The right to hold unpopular beliefs; The right to protest; The right of independent thought.
    Today our country is being psychologically divided by the confusion and the suspicions that are bred in the United States Senate to spread like cancerous tentacles of "know nothing, suspect everything" attitudes... History is repeating itself -- and the Republican Party again has the opportunity to emerge as the champion of unity and prudence...

    ...it is time for a change and that a Republican victory is necessary to the security of this country...
    Yet to displace it with a Republican regime embracing a philosophy that lacks political integrity or intellectual honesty would prove equally disastrous to this nation. The nation sorely needs a Republican victory. But I don't want to see the Republican Party ride to political victory on the Four Horsemen of Calumny -- Fear, Ignorance, Bigotry and Smear.
    As a United States Senator, I am not proud of the way in which the Senate has been made a publicity platform for irresponsible sensationalism. I am not proud of the reckless abandon in which unproved charges have been hurled from this side of the aisle. I am not proud of the obviously staged, undignified countercharges that have been attempted in retaliation from the other side of the aisle...
    As an American, I condemn a Republican "Fascist" just as much as I condemn a Democrat "Communist." I condemn a Democrat "fascist" just as much as I condemn a Republican "Communist." They are equally dangerous to you and me and to our country. As an American, I want to see our nation recapture the strength and unity it once had when we fought the enemy instead of ourselves...

    Full text available at: http://www.mcslibrary.org/program/library/declaration.htm

    Both sides of the political debate could learn from this. :thumbsup:
     
  2. junius. fils

    junius. fils New Member

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    Looked it up, downloaded it, saved it. It's a keeper.
     

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