"Joy and pleasure are as real as pain and sorrow and one must learn what they have to teach. . . ." -- Sean Russell, from Gatherer of Clouds

"If you're not having fun, you're not doing it right." -- Helyn D. Goldenberg

"I love you and I'm not afraid." -- Evanescence, "My Last Breath"

“If I hear ‘not allowed’ much oftener,” said Sam, “I’m going to get angry.” -- J.R.R. Tolkien, from Lord of the Rings

Monday, July 04, 2011

"Liberty and Justice for All"

I've been under the weather for the past couple of days -- which is putting it mildly, but I'd rather not dwell on it. I'm back to normal, though, whatever that is.

Happy 4th of July, and I hope everyone will take some time today to think about what those words in the title of this post really mean. That is what counts as real "traditional American values."

As a footnote to that idea, read this piece from Ed Brayton on the writing of the Declaration of Independence:

The assertion that each individual had rights that were unalienable and that the principal job of government is to secure those rights had never before been declared so boldly.

The more I read about what's going on in Washington -- and Wisconsin and Ohio and Florida and any number of other places in this country -- the more I realize we're in danger of losing it completely.

In other news, I've finally connected with Red's latest CD, Until We Have Faces. It took awhile, but we found some common ground at last. Look for more on that in Reviews in Brief sometime soon.

And on that note, I've got a lot of catching up to do. We'll see how I manage.

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