Movement, Mainstream,
Monument
Every revolution--political,
spiritual or philosophical--follows the same path. In
the beginning is an idea, a world changing idea. That
idea becomes a movement. The movement, if successful, in
time becomes the mainstream. With the further passing of
time it becomes a monument to what once was. Examples
are everywhere: the Roman Empire, the Industrial
Revolution, even the Christian Church in
Europe. Each began as an idea that became a
vital and energetic movement. Each changed the way
people thought and acted and communicated. In time, each
became one with the nature of the societies they existed
within, defining those societies and moving them
forward. They built large civic buildings, factories and
cathedrals to facilitate their philosophies. They became
mainstream.
After a movement becomes
mainstream, it either accomplishes its original goal, is
subverted, or is usurped by another revolution. After
becoming mainstream, some movements simply lose their
way, their momentum failing, their age passing. A few
movements live beyond the mainstream and become the
monument. No longer vital and alive, they exist
simply as reminders of what once was.
People no longer go to the Senate building in
Rome
to practice politics. The visitors to old factories are
historians, not workers, and the thousands of people who
pass through the great Cathedrals of Europe?
Tourists, not worshippers.
Is this the fate of our American
Revolution? Is this what we can expect for the future of
American government? We certainly have the monuments.
From New England to
New York to DC we have plenty of
places to go and remember the greatness of the Founding
Generation. The buildings that housed the call of
liberty have been reduced to a backdrop for Senators who
would rather give sound bites than debate ideas. Our
great founding documents can be seen under glass, but
are rarely read. Our leaders pay homage to them, but
often ignore them when making decisions. These documents
remain as artifacts of a time when men of reason sought
to build a country of liberty and justice. Have we
already become the monument? Are we living in a Post
American Society?
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Are
we living in a Post American Society?
There is only one way that any
revolution can be saved. It must be reborn as a
movement. The original idea must be rediscovered and
restored. It’s an awakening that occurs when people’s
minds are reopened to old truths seen in a new way. John
Adams once said
“Revolution
was effected before the war commenced. The Revolution
was in the minds and hearts of the people.”
To
Adams’ mind the war was not the Revolution;
it was a product of the revolution that had already
occurred. This is the kind of revolution we need today.
If eyes can again be turned towards the ideals of the
Revolution, then minds will turn as well. What if
students and senators were again discussing the ideas of
liberty, justice and republic, instead of simple party
policy? What if our citizens demanded that politicians
explain their basic philosophies rather than just their
positions?
Washington
dreamed of a country led by Patriots without party.
Jefferson
thought that his political party was a temporary thing
that would end with his inauguration, not a machine that
would come to decide which choices we have for leaders.
The options for us are simple and clear: Do we
choose to live in the ascent of a country or its
decline, the monument or the movement? Monuments are
comfortable, beautiful and stable. Monuments are safe
and predictable. Monuments are preferable to movements
in almost every way but one; monuments are dead. There
is no hope in monuments. The only thing that monuments
can give us is inspiration. The inspiration we need to
begin a movement.
“Every
generation needs a new revolution.”
Thomas Jefferson
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