Consti here roaming through the underground bunker library where I stumbled on my old copy of Huckleberry Finn and a Connecticut Yankee. After tearing through the books I wondered what one of the greatest writers of American history had to say about politicians. WWMTD? Now my library is as extensive as the internet is big, so after a little research I have two gems I would like to share. Courtesy of one of my heroes Samuel Langhorne Clemens, otherwise known as Mark Twain.
‘My kind of loyalty was loyalty to one’s country, not to its institutions or its officeholders. The country is the real thing, the substantial thing, the eternal thing; it is the thing to watch over, and care for, and be loyal to; institutions are extraneous, they are its mere clothing, and clothing can wear out, become ragged, cease to be comfortable, cease to protect the body from winter, disease, and death.’
- A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court
‘For in a republic, who is “the Country”? Is it the Government which is for the moment in the saddle? Why, the Government is merely a servant- merely a temporary servant; it cannot be its prerogative to determine what is right and what is wrong, and decide who is a patriot and who isn’t. Its function is to obey orders, not originate them. Who, then, is “the Country”? Is it the newspaper? is it the pulpit? Is it the school superintendent? Why, these are mere parts of the country, not the whole of it; they have not command, they have only their little share in the command. They are but one in a thousand; it is in the thousand that command is lodged; they must determine what is right and what is wrong; they must decide who is a patriot and who isn’t.
Who are the thousand–that is to say, who are “the Country”? In a monarchy, the king and his family are the country; in a republic it is the common voice of the people. Each of you, for himself, by himself and on his own responsibility, must speak. And it is a solemn and weighty responsibility, and not lightly to be flung aside at the bullying of pulpit, press, government, or the empty catch-phrases of politicians. Each must for himself alone decide what is right and what is wrong, and which course is patriotic and which isn’t. You cannot shirk this and be a man. To decide it against your convictions is to be an unqualified and inexcusable traitor, both to yourself and to your country, let men label you as they may. If you alone of all the nation shall decide on way, and that way be the right way according to your convictions of the right, you have done your duty by yourself and by your country–hold up your head. You have nothing to be ashamed of.’
- Papers of the Adam Family
Ah’¦. I love the old man. Even in his day, Twain knew a universal truth when he saw one. Never one to shrink from speaking his mind Twain knew how to break down the walls of speech to speak clearly. Now it s funny to hear him speak of a Republic. Since constitutionally that s what this country is. Today, the term has been supplanted with Democracy. Which in of itself is an illusion. Sort of like making the jumbo jets disappear.
Unfortunately these days the only voices that are heard are those that shout the loudest. That can get more air time on the nightly news than in actual thought and contemplation. Protests viewed from every partisan angle, disseminated on every talking head show between the airwaves and cable. Looped and repeated 24/7 with a scrolling ticker at the bottom just in case you forgot. Folded, spindled, mutilated, blended, dried, lost, found, buried, dug up, re-filed, and finally archived for the useless corporate info that they are.
What would Twain think of our country today? Would he be frightened at the thought of a gazillion ideas rushing around on wires? Or would he speak his mind as he always did, and be damned the consequences? Would he be in awe or disgust of the slow slide into socialism that the country is taking? WWMTD?
There is another saying I hold dear to me. ‘Know your history or be doomed to repeat it.’
Consti
P.S. Almost didn t post this article since Ben and Silverwun beat me to the punch with their well written articles. But thought I would share anyway. Who doesn t love Twain?
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