Posted on 11/04/2002 6:41:34 PM PST by Interesting Times
They knew each other well, though few had ever met.
They hailed from many places, represented many traditions, moved in social circles high or low, yet met together as equals.
Some were experts in specialized fields of study: law, engineering, business, medicine, politics, journalism, software, physics, astronomy, too many others to count. Others were writers, homemakers, musicians, analysts, visionaries. Together, they possessed more knowledge than any university. At their fingertips lay the world.
They held these things in common: a respect for facts, a hunger for truth, a love of freedom. The electronic home that connected them was the idea of a single man, who had seen a great Republic under siege and had dedicated his life to its restoration.
Though the group they formed was without precedent, it represented an age-old dream -- that the people might know the truth about their leaders, and have the power to act on that knowledge.
And so they worked to make the dream real.
They researched, recorded, analyzed, petitioned, protested, denounced infiltrators and welcomed amazed newcomers. They prayed for their injured and their ill, for their country, for strength in a turbulent time. They had no formal leaders, and rarely agreed on strategies, tactics, or goals. Some became weary and dropped away. Some left in bursts of outrage. But others pressed on, and the ungainly, loosely-coupled organization gathered momentum.
They built libraries of information, scouted and subverted their opponents, formed alliances, and wrote their words across the sky. A thousand outrages drew a swift response -- the college president honoring a murderer, the actor calling for violence in pretended jest, the journalist lying for his benefactors. All the while, the relentless threshing machine of their discourse winnowed fiction from fact, reality from layers of dissembling.
Among them were heroes, willing to stand before a corrupt and corrupting leader more powerful than any ancient king and name his evil deeds to his face. Others worked to educate the people; arguing, informing, explaining, shining light on acts committed in darkness. Their ideas began to appear in newpapers and magazines, were repeated on the radio, on television.
And as they began to change the world, they also changed each other, shaping and tempering their understanding in a thousand debates. The deceptions of the old order became first visible, then obvious, then predictable. Armed with new resolve and formidable understanding, they carried sparks of resistance back to families, friends, communities.
They saw the machinery of tyranny set into position, and fought for time, knowing that time was short. They lost battles and won them. They watched in anger as the corrupt leader evaded justice; then in grim satisfaction as his chosen successor was compelled to deny his desire to disarm the people.
And for some, history's terrible pendulum seemed to hesitate...
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Tomorrow the Republic stands, once again, before the crossroads. So, tonight, in cities and villages, on farms and on mountaintops, in their homes across a great continent and beyond, they wait.
They wait, but they do not wait alone.
Didn’t you sing that Newman tune on a cruise a few years ago?
For those who don’t know it, IT is a pretty good piano man!
Hart to believe Bush 2000/Chads/Freepers on the ground and flying planes is almost 10 years ago!
Wow, We’re all getting older.
Winston Churchill, 1942.
What is the over/under on Overbite’s “Nazi” usage tomorrow night?
Pray for the Election
Ten years....WOW...those were the days, my friend!
I spent most of the day on my phone to help GOTV in my FL precinct. Many people I called had already voted early. They said they couldn’t wait until November 2.
They were so eager to begin to ‘Reclaim America’!
GO Marco Rubio GO
GO Rick Scott GO
Nice I.T. I feel sorta sad I didn’t see my name on the thread prior to this.
Thank you for the ping.
There’s a lot of history in them there threads.
Thanks for the ping!
Thanks for re-posting the best election-eve meditation I have ever seen. ¡Salud!
Once more, with feeling.
Very nice. Thank you...
Didn’t realize we were on an old thread at first.
Very cool that you can bring that back up, and we all can enjoy it again.
See you in 2020. “:^)
Hey D1 - great to see you again.
Same here I.T.
Hope things are good for you.
Our Republic's very survival stands in the balance..
The battle between good and evil rages..
The choice is clear.
Excellent! Thanks for bringing it back.
We still fight, we don’t back down even in the face of threats and trumped up criminal charges.
Here in Western NY none of the parties like me or us. But they sure love us when we help a candidate and get them elected just so they can stab us in the back again.
We are the Patriots that will stand our ground in the face of all adversity. Carry on!
Thanks for the memory!!
Thanks. It seems as appropriate tonight as it did 16 years ago.
Hey, bright kid .. he knows who the idiots are. Wow, he’s already way ahead of the game. LOL
Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
My wife and I dropped off our early ballots this morning and contributed to Trump’s pac for last minute ads.
Check the date - that bright kid is 32 now.
Hey Dave.
One difference from 2000 - the mask is now completely off the DNC Media. Or, as we like to call it, ABCNNBCBS.
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