Live with Courage and Refuse to be Silent

“Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.” Benjamin Franklin

For the past two day, I have been trying to wrap my brain around “why.” Why would the residents of Watertown, MA allow an illegal search of their homes even when there is a plausible reason for it? Why is it that what is as obvious as the wart on a witches nose can’t be seen by so many people. I’ve even questioned if I am excessively paranoid, looking for reasons for a fight. I’ve asked myself if I would really resist were I in the situation. And then I see the video of the search in progress (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LrbsUVSVl8&feature=youtu.be) and the answers to at least some of my questions float to the surface. No, I am not excessively paranoid, not even a little paranoid and yes, I am looking for a fight but it is a fight for a cause. And yes, I would resist and bear the consequence. You see, I believe in the sanctity of the Constitution. I believe that it is one of the few absolutes in the lives of US citizens, the one thing we should be able to count on in an every changing world, in a world dominated by self serving politicians.

As we think back in our lives, we can all probably remember the first lie we told. It came out of our mouths in an effort to protect ourselves from a consequence. Afterwards, most of us probably agonized over that lie. It kept us awake at night. We tossed and turned and we couldn’t get it out of our minds. If we couldn’t correct it, we vowed that it would be the last lie we would ever tell. Then, someplace down the road, we were backed into another corner and again facing an unpleasant consequence so we took the easy route and told another lie. It bothered us but as we fell asleep that night, we were relieved that the reason for the lie was safely hidden. The next time we needed to protect ourselves and lied, our greatest fear was that we would be found out.

The very same thing is happening with the adherence to the Constitution. Playing fast and loose with principles will leave us without any principles at all.