The Cornerstone is important!

Thursday-October 14, 2010

The cornerstone is important!

Yesterday, I wrote about the cornerstone of thought. Yesterday, was the 218th anniversary of the laying of the cornerstone at what would become The White House. It was laid in place by George Washington. There was a cornerstone, because there was great thought and deliberation by our founding fathers when they decided to declare Independence.

I wanted to bring into focus the word “cornerstone”, because it is an important word; not only in the history of grand structures, but grand ideas that result in grand ideals.

On today’s date, in 1774, the nation’s first Continental Congress met to declare colonial rights in Philadelphia. Some of the same men that I continually write about were there. Take a minute to read a brief history of this session of Congress.

Declaration and Resolves on Colonial rights of the First Continental Congress
October 14, 1774 1

[Following the Boston Tea Party and the adoption of the Intolerable Acts, delegates gathered on September 5, 1774, at Philadelphia, in what was to become the First Continental Congress. Every colony but Georgia was represented. They voted on September 6 to appoint a committee "to state the rights of the Colonies in general, the several instances in which these rights are violated or infringed, and the means most proper to be pursued for obtaining a restoration of them" (Journals of the Continental Congress, 1774-1789, Washington, 1904, I, 26).

Joseph Galloway (173l -1803), a Philadelphia merchant and lawyer, led a conservative attempt to unite the colonies within the Empire. He had served as speaker of the Pennsylvania Assembly from 1776 to 1774. In the war Galloway supported the British cause and after 1778 became spokesman for the Loyalists in England. In the First Continental Congress the more radical delegates thrust aside Galloway's proposal and on October 14 adopted instead, by unanimous action, the Declaration of Colonial Rights reproduced here. The first draft of these resolutions was written by Major John Sullivan (1740-95 ), delegate from New Hampshire, lawyer, major of the New Hampshire militia, major general in the Continental Army, judge, and eventually governor of his state.

Before they dissolved, on October 26, the members voted to meet again in the same city on May 10, 1775, "unless the redress of grievances ... be obtained before that time"
This single meeting of Congress was the cornerstone of our history and our fight for Independence.

This was not a mistake. This was not somebody saying “Oops”! These were intentional acts to rebel against intentional acts. Since the beginning of the Republic, our country has seen many in history succeed and many fail. Most fail because of ideology and beliefs. There is something inherent in being an American. There is something inherent in us to recognize what failure is.
President Obama, in an NYT interview, said he, “doesn’t believe that shovel ready jobs exist.” He also said that he, “looks like a regular tax and spend democrat.” The Vice President said, “We’re not campaigning on our legislation because it’s just too hard to explain.” Oops!
I keep writing about the difference in this presidency, the difference in the men in this presidency and the difference in the men that laid the cornerstone of liberty for us to embrace, enjoy and, most importantly, preserve!

With these admissions, our president has thrown in the towel. Everyone can see that his programs have failed and his Congress has failed. The Washington Post is reporting that fellow Democrats are walking away from their support of Nancy Pelosi. When a President fails, his country fails. If our forefathers failed in their efforts to secure liberty, then the cornerstone of their beliefs would have failed.

The cornerstone of beliefs is what has failed here. The American people will have these failed programs to deal with, but the beliefs in freedom and liberty haven’t failed. It is the cornerstone of being an American. I wrote yesterday, “at every turning point in our history, liberty has won over tyranny.” Fortunately, few generations of Americans have witnessed tyranny. This is why it becomes incumbent upon us to tell the story of history and tell the story of the failed attempts to destroy liberty and freedom. When one generation tolerates the ills of another, it then becomes acceptable to future generations. This is not what the cornerstone of our history tells us. Our cornerstone tells us that when we recognize tyranny it is our duty to triumph over it.

Tyranny is a strong word to use. Tyranny is not supposed to exist in this modern world. But it does. It exists in foreign lands where government looms over the individual. It exists in the epilogs of history with men who have beliefs in the concentrating of power and the consolidation of political appointees with little accountability to the public who pays their salary. It exists when men conspire to hatch political plans that are designed to control and indoctrinate. It exists when your vote becomes a question of patriotism. It exists when freemen are challenged to reveal where their support comes from through innuendo and falsity.

The fall midterms are here. We have less than three weeks. The results of the midterms will tell a story. The president is telling a story now. He is dabbling in fiction and he is trying to rewrite the last chapter of a bad script. Our forefathers and the great men of history didn’t have to rewrite their last chapter, because the last chapter was a celebration of triumph and not defeat!

A new Rueters poll has the president at a 43% approval to a 53% disapproval rating. We will see the true character of this man when these poll numbers prove to be right in a few weeks. We will see the true character of those who will control the Congress through their actions and the promises they have made.

Again it will be up to us to maintain the cornerstone of the beliefs and ideals that gave liberty and freedom a structure to grow. It will be up to us to relate what happened on this date in 1774. It will be up to us to make sure that the sunlight shines brightly on the people’s house. Just in the way Washington intended it to 218 years ago!

Gregory C. Dildilian
Founder and Executive Director
Pinecone Conservatives

A footnote: In 19 days a new chapter will be written, it will not be written by the president but by the people who pays the salary of the man who lives in the People’s House. The cornerstone is important because it is something you can believe in.