Dirk Poppe’s Post

In anticipation of the 4th of July celebration tomorrow, we reflect on the Declaration of Independence, a revolutionary and liberating ideal that forever changed the course of history. As Abraham Lincoln eloquently phrased almost 100 years after independence, it marked the beginning of "government of the people, by the people, for the people." This was not merely independence from a monarchy but the birth of a novel, democratic form of government. At Ideovee/BetterProspecting, we want to thank our USA-based customers, partners, staff, and friends for their continued support and collaboration. We wish you all a happy and safe Independence Day celebration with your loved ones. "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all people are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among people, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed." source ~ Declaration of Independence 1776 "A constitution defines and limits the powers of the government it creates. It therefore follows, as a natural and also a logical result, that the governmental exercise of any power not authorized by the constitution is an assumed power, and therefore illegal." source ~ Thomas Paine; English-born American Founding Father, Revolutionary, political activist, philosopher, political theorist, and revolutionary #IndependenceDay #4thOfJuly #DeclarationOfIndependence #Democracy #BetterProspecting #Celebration #Community

Individual Freedom: The birth of our great nation was inspired by the bold declaration that our individual,God-given liberties should be preserved against government intrusion. That same conviction informs our conservative policy decisions still today. In America,we proclaim the self-evident truths that all of us are created equal and granted by God the same inherent freedoms, such as the natural and unalienable rights to life, liberty, conscience, free speech and the free exercise of religion, and the ability to pursue happiness, own property, build wealth and defend ourselves and our families. The purpose of government is to secure these rights, and the ideas we advance should always aim to maintain and increase the liberty of the American people.

The Privilege of Being an American! We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. People come to America because they know that there are better opportunities because their voices will be heard here, they’ll have a freedom of speech, as the Bill of Right states! The Pledge of Allegiance includes many important meanings, “I pledge of allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all.” (1882, Rear Admiral George Balch) This line represents what being American means because it means being equal, respectful to one another, and unifying together for justice and liberty. The U.S stands for the United States, hint the word united meaning we are supposed to stand together to be better, to unite when we are attacked, and unite to be stronger together no matter what religion you are, no matter what race you are, it just matters that we come together as one when tragic happens. Our founding fathers did miraculous work assembling these United States. Are we a perfect union? No, we sometimes see things differently. But the beauty of this union of states is the fact we can disagree, and take action to make changes! Many places in this world do not allow voices to be heard. We do! Sometimes we forget this important thing. We can learn a great deal from our forefathers. For example, President George Washington called this the Great Experiment. Never before accomplished!   Ben Franklin shared this: “The Constitution only gives people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself.” President Ronald Reagan: “We must reject the idea that every time a law's broken, society is guilty rather than the lawbreaker. It is time to restore the American precept that each individual is accountable for his actions.” He also left us this: "We owe this freedom of choice and action to those men and women in uniform who have served this nation and its interests in time of need. In particular, we are forever indebted to those who have given their lives that we might be free .May 1983 May God continue to bless the great nation! 

Throughout history, people have fought and died for political freedom, recognising it as a fundamental human right. Yet, today, these freedoms face significant threats from legislators, technocrats, and political activists who seek to suppress them for their own agendas. In this series, we explore the key foundations at the heart of our prosperity, cultural vitality and flourishing. The four essential freedoms of Speech, Religion, Association and Property have been enjoyed for centuries, but are under increasing threat from those who fail to comprehend, cherish, or protect them.

On July 4, 1826, two prominent presidents, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams of USA, took their final breaths within hours of each other. Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, both Founding Fathers and former Presidents of the United States, had significant ideological differences, but they also shared several core principles that shaped their political views and actions. Both Jefferson and Adams were staunch advocates for American independence from British rule, meaning they vehemently opposed the British occupation of the USA. Both leaders opposed the idea of a monarchy and supported the establishment of a republic where power resided with the people and their elected representatives. They believed in the rule of law and the importance of a government based on laws rather than the whims of rulers. They supported the idea of federalism, with a division of powers between the national and state governments. Both were influenced by Enlightenment ideals, emphasizing reason, science, and the pursuit of knowledge. They shared a belief in the inherent rights of individuals, including life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, as articulated in the Declaration of Independence. Both were advocates for civil liberties, although their approaches differed. They believed in protecting the freedoms of speech, press, and religion. They emphasized the importance of leaders setting a moral example and acting with integrity. We must now take a critical audit of present-day USA especially from the period of the presidency of Ronald Reagan. The country to rely heavily on brutal military force and maintains an imperialist policy that plunders other nations. It frequently denies the democratic decisions made by other countries and illegitimately intervenes in their internal affairs. The USA does not support a pluralistic world and denies the right to self-determination for the Palestinians in their homeland. Additionally, it unconditionally supports Israel in its suppression of the Palestinian resistance movement.

Absolutism, the political doctrine and practice of unlimited centralized authority and absolute sovereignty, as vested especially in a monarch or dictator. The essence of an absolutist system is that the ruling power is not subject to regularized challenge or check by any other agency, be it judicial, legislative, religious, economic, or electoral. King Louis XIV (1643–1715) of France furnished the most familiar assertion of absolutism when he said, “L’état, c’est moi” (“I am the state”). Absolutism has existed in various forms in all parts of the world, including in Nazi Germany under Adolf Hitler and in the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin. (Britannica definition). In the US, Republicans are under the aegis of absolutist politicians like Trump and his cohorts. They demand absolute power, total immunity, anti-immigration, white supremacy, enriching the rich, religious intolerance, power of the gun, and a host of other fascistic orthodoxy. Is this the kind of society Americans love?

https://lnkd.in/eK8nM2-N Why Some Prefer Oligarchy and (🎶 What’s Russia got to do, got to do with it?  Teri Kanefield ..."The Republicans hated the former Soviet Union because, in the former Soviet Union, the government owned all the nation’s resources and industries. The Republicans believe all (or almost all) resources and industries should be privatized. When the Soviet Union broke up, the Russian Federation was established as a constitutional republic, but before democracy (and rule of law) could take hold, there was a wild rush to control (grab) the nation’s industries and resources. The people who successfully grabbed the resources and industries became billionaires. These new billionaires then hand-picked the nation’s leaders. (If you control everything, you can do that.) The new Russian billionaires are usually called oligarchs, but basically they’re gangsters who got rich by stealing. Now that a few wealthy people own all of Russia’s resources and pull the strings behind the scenes, lots of Republicans feel differently about Russia. ... Now that whites are losing their electoral majority, and the demographics of the nation are changing, white nationalists, white supremacists, Christian nationalists, and libertarians no longer trust the American electorate. Some of them don’t think many of today’s voters are true Americans. They think “real” Americans are being usurped and displaced. ...  the anti-democratic right-wing controls the House of Representatives and numerous state legislatures. Over the past 5 decades, the radicals have been slowly seizing power. Their highly successful method was to begin with local politics because most people are focused on national politics and ignore local elections."...

On this day of American patriotic celebration, I offer up the opportunity to take a moment and reflect on an aspect of the Declaration of Independence. Below 👇🏼 I have put the full second paragraph of the Declaration… we all know the famous first sentence: We Hold These… I believe fervently that this nation was founded on an aspiriation of what is possible. And that first sentence with the word men, did not extend certain unalienable rights to women - slaves or Native Americans - and thus we have been on an almost 250 year journey to create that more perfect union. With that - I think the whole second paragraph deserves to be read and understood in the context of our Nation’s current place and status. The Whole Second Paragraph: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States.

My sincere advice to the younger generations: 1. Devote time to the study of logic. The critical reasoning skills that logic develops will help you decipher the truth. It's one of the most important skills you can develop and a life sustaining gift you can give to yourself. 2. Devote time to understanding the philosophical underpinnings of American democracy. Read Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and Adam Smith. 3. Study the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and Declaration of Independence. Learn what differentiated the American republic from its contemporaries. What does your individual freedom mean? What are your responsibilities? 4. Learn what differentiates socialism, communism, capitalism, and democracies. Learn what fascism and totalitarianism are. Understand these things so well you can describe the differences to people. 5. When you see flawed logic, hold your ground and calmly dismantle fallacious reasoning. If enough of you do this, the hope for freedom and democracy will remain. God Bless you all. Erik Ogard