June 16, 2009

The forward from Glenn Beck's common sense:

I left work today, did not pass go and drove straight to books a million and bought Glenn's new book. Here is the forward

A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR.

Two hundred and thirty five years ago a British citizen with only a basic education set off top make a new life for himself in the British colonies. For two years he worked hard as his fellow colonists grew tired of British oppression. Then he decided yo act. Using his contacts in the publishing industry, Thomas Paine anonymously released a pamphlet that made the case for revolution using extraordinarily logical, straightforward indisputable arguments.
He called it "common sense".
Once Paine put his feelings into words, he realized that He wasn't alone. Only seven months passed between the release if Common Sense in January 1776 and the signing of the Declaration of Independence. 7 months that changed the world, forever.
Today we find ourselves back in 1776- but this time our path is not so clear cut. The abuses being perpetrated by our governments are just as obvious now as they were then, but instead of rising up with a collective voice, we sit idly by and watch our hard won freedoms slowly dissolve into a puddle of apathy, political correctness, and outright corruption.
We feel helpless and alone as we hear the confusing debates over obscure issues play out on the airwaves daily. But that's the lie. The infighting and the purposeful division promoted by our political parties is a simple ploy to keep us from uniting. After all, a citizenry that fights among itself over petty differences is too busy to notice the real cause of its' problems.
As you read the details of the immense harm that both political parties have done to our country, you might find yourself wondering what can be done to change our course. I lay out several options, but I want to be clear that none of them includes violence. Thomas Paine and his fellow revolutionaries shed their blood so that future generations would have access to weapons immeasurably stronger than muskets or bayonets; the weapons of democracy. Those are the tools that we will use to usher in a second American Revolution, a Revolution that won't be fought on battlefields, but in the hearts and minds if the three hundred million people luck enough to call America home.
Over the years, many revolutionaries have used sharp tongues instead of sharp knives- and the results have been extraordinary. Martin Luther King, Jr., for instance, once said to his supporters, "The question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be...the nation and the world are in dire need of creative extremists."
It was inflammatory language but he meant it is easier to simply die for a cause than it is to find inventive, effective means to fight for it. Violence is the easy way out-but it is also a sure path to discrediting everything you stand form something that those who are opposed to him found out the hard way.
"nonviolence is the answer to the crucial political and moral questions of our time," king said while accepting the Nobel Prize. He continued, "...(man must) overcome oppression and violence without resorting to oppression and violence. Man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love."
History has proven King right- and so our new revolution of thought begins right now- with you.
Thomas Paine was an unremarkable man living in a remarkable time. He proved that it does not take celebrity, stature, or wealth to make a difference it only takes someone willing to say the things that need o be said. Well I am no Thomas Paine he was an extraordinary writer, a renowned motivator, and a heroic patriot-but the words that follow also need to be said if for no other reason than to soothe my own conscience.

If you believe that it's time to put principles above parties, character above campaign promises, and Common Sense above all- then I ask you to read this book, declare yourself a creative extremist, and the pass these words along to others who .at agree with something else Martin Luther King, Jr. Once said: "the hottest place in hell is reserved for those who remain neutral in times of great moral conflict."

Do not remain neutral. Do nit sit idly by. Do not let others speak for you. Silence has gotten us nowhere so it is once again time for our collective voices to make a simple yet powerful demand...DON'T TREAD ON ME.

Glenn Beck

All I can say is:
Woo hoo!
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