Sybil Ludington Rides Again

Politics, Freedom and Farm Life

In The Hedgerow

Happy St. Patrick’s Day. Instead of talking about St. Patrick and snakes, let’s talk about freedom from snakes, ok?

Imagine a country where you are: forbidden the exercise the religion of your choice; Forbidden to receive education, or to be educated at the school of your choice; Forbidden from entering a profession if you have conservative values; Forbidden from holding public office; Forbidden to engage in trade or commerce; Forbidden to own a car of greater value than five hundred dollars; Forbidden to purchase or lease land; Forbidden to vote because of your beliefs; Forbidden to keep any arms for your protection. You could not be guardian to a child, or educate your own child. It was against the law to celebrate your heritage and history. Symbols and rituals that you and your family held dear were now illegal (if they were the wrong “kind “).

Picture driving down the highway with your teenage son who has worked for 5 years on a classic car he got from the junkyard. He bit by bit worked and bought parts for it till it was restored and it is now not only drivable, but beautiful. The boy has 400 dollars and 10 pounds of sweat and labor in it. He has learned the value and rewards of hard work. As you are out on your first ride together in it, you are stopped by a person loyal to the power party. The person offers $500 for it, because he likes the car. It is worth a lot more, and your son doesn’t want to sell it. One of two things happens, you sell it, because you aren’t allowed to own a vehicle worth more than $500, or you protest and get whapped on however much the “power party person” decides is appropriate. To fight back is a crime. A hate crime with double penalty.

A few years later a “civilian security force” is established. The regular law enforcement agencies have trouble keeping tabs on everyone. There are so many laws that someone might get by with breaking one, so a civilian security force has been the answer. Sometimes they are able to get valuable information about crimes that haven’t happened yet by terrorizing someone that might know something or someone and they can get them to give them information. They have also found that getting people to turn in their fellow citizens is a good way to stay on top of things. Sometimes they have found it helpful to terrorize regular civilians by burning their houses down, beating some to death or torture. Not water boarding, the real deal. Besides, they find it an enjoyable pastime. You might get lucky and find a civilian speaking a forbidden language or idea, and then you have justification for it. This “civilian security force” was established to keep liberty minded people from thinking evil thoughts, such as liberty, freedom, justice.

This is a world of FROM each according to his ability to each according to their connections with someone in power, or their willingness to tow the party line. It makes sure that average citizens can not meet together in a large group; they might start to talk about what could be done to improve their lot, so things such as sporting events are rare. Then there was that nasty episode where the “civilian security force” and some specially “imported police” shot a group of people at a football game. They were sure that there were people that had been working to free citizens from governmental tyranny there. Shame about all those civilians that got killed and they didn’t actually catch one “liberty ” person there. OOPS! Talk about a faux pas!

So, do you think I’m looking into the unchecked future of obamanation here? Well, I’m hoping it’s not, but I suppose it could be. Actually, all these things and more have already happened. In Ireland. The first part are the penal laws, enacted under Elizabeth’s reign. Yeah, I adapted the one about the car. It is actually they couldn’t own a horse worth more than 5 pounds, even if they raised it. If a Catholic had a horse worth more than 5 pounds, it was gone, or they were dead. Several of them got dead. They were forbidden to speak Gaelic or to teach their children their heritage, or traditional manner of dress. Hedge row schools sprang up for those that could afford them, but since no money for books, lessons were mostly taught orally. There was also a little game called “surrender and re-grant”. You have to give up your land, if you swear allegiance to Obama, oops I meant Elizabeth, you get to manage your own land, and it was suppose to be granted back to you. The “civilian security force”? The black and tans. Mostly English veterans from the war come to help out the Royal Irish Constabulary. Ok, they aren’t “civilians” but the point was they pretty much behaved in any undisciplined fashion they wished and were not subject to the regular rules of the military. In fact the King was horrified at some of the atrocities of the Black and Tans and the Auxiliaries or Auxies during the Irish War of Independence. The Irish persevered, and eventually gained some freedom from England.

Kind of ironic isn’t it? What the English did to the Irish to keep them in line, and now England is or has been taken over by muslims on their own shores. Down through the years, the Irish had made different attempts to gain their freedom from a tyrannical government, with different groups. They kept trying and trying. One of the reasons they were forbidden from owning arms. The sad thing is with all the talk of reviving the “fairness or censorship” doctrine, various gun ban bills being floated around, the stimulus package wrought only God knows what disastrous results for our country, you have to suspect that more restrictive laws will be put in place to keep the subjects in line. The good part for us is, if the sheepdogs among us are starting to stir, we are miles ahead of where the Irish started out. We ARE still allowed to go to the Capitol and talk to our legislators; we ARE allowed to vote and have a voice. This will only work if we USE those things. To sit around and “talk” about “from my cold dead hands” is just pure bunk. Talk is cheap. The Irish didn’t win any bit of their independence by sitting around the pubs and talking, it was action. We need to get moving, and it needs to be now! Elections are this year, we can’t afford any more RINOs, squishy Repubs, and there are very few Dems I think would be a good bet. Because we are betting our freedom!

1 Comment

  1. RIGHT ON!! WRITE ON!! RIDE ON!! Loved every word–it’s TIME!!

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