I'm 44 years old. I vividly remember the movie, '
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington', from my teenage years, when it was played numerous times on our local independent TV station (that would be somewhere between the stone and bronze ages).
The scene that has stayed with me after all these years, is the one in which Mr Smith (played by american icon, James Stewart) is on the floor of the Senate, tears streaming down his face, pleading in a strangled, hoarse voice, for someone, anyone, to stand with him on the side of honesty and courage.
Why do I reference this classic movie? I just read an interesting article
It Only Takes One by Robert Parry, on the
TruthOut.org website.
Parry is, just as the fiction Mr Smith did, expounding on the thought that it only takes a single US Senator to actually enact a filibuster.
That's all. Just one single Senator.
- One who truely believes in the US Constitution, and the Rights of the People enumerated therein.
- One with the courage of his/her convictions, to speak out, as is their duty*, when the Constitution is in jeopardy.
*[Article VI of the Constitution: The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the members of the several state legislatures, and all executive and judicial officers, both of the United States and of the several states, shall be bound by oath or affirmation, to support this Constitution;]
- One who is willing to ignore the doublespeak of the television pundits and the polical wind-watchers and take a stand on the principles our nation was founded on - honesty between the Government and Governed, clear lines of Separation of Powers between our tri-lateral governing bodies (Executive, Legislative and Judicial).
The confirmation of Judge Alito to the US Supreme Court will be just one more nail in the coffin of the US Constitution. This is a justice who has publically declared his support of the 'Unitary Presidency'. How much more power does this President need?
When a former Vice President takes a public stand and states that the Republic is in danger, isn't that an event of serious importantance?
This is my personal plea for at least ONE of our Senators to do for the nation today, what James Stewart's Mr. Smith did for movie-going audiences in 1939 -
Stand Up and be counted.