It takes a lot of outrage to penetrate the aches and congestion and dullness of a case of the flu and actually inspire an outraged call for action. The vile little fatwas against judges who have the gall to rule on the basis of the law, issued (so far) by Sen. Cornyn (Traitor-TX) and Rep. DeLay (Traitor-TX), a man who is already awaiting indictments for a range of crimes, have pushed me to that point.
It's been pointed out that the remarks of both these gentlemen are both criminal and violations of their oaths of office. Somehow, one has the impression that neither of those really matters a whit to those vermin. Deus Vult, and all that.
(more on the flip -- there is no "fold" here...)
Now there are things that all sorts of officials ought to be doing about this--call your congressional representation and rage about this, send emails, faxes, and best of all (because they pat more attention to them...) send letters (you know, sheets of paper--dead trees--with words printed on them, in an envelope, addressed and stamped. It's slow, yes. But "They" believe that such communications have more gravitas, and they give them more weight. Myself, all I can see that they have is a lack of speed and a small amount of mass. Perhaps some clay tablets--use your best cuneiform!--or stone tablets (engraved!) would get even more attention).
But there's another project we could all undertake. One wrapped in the finest revolutionary history and the flag... environmentally sound... with the potential of getting some press and helping raise some hell.Symbols matter. We know this, and so do the wingnuts--which is why they wrap themselves in the flag.
So it's time to embrace an old symbol... and put it back to work.
Liberty Trees.
During the Revolution, the colonists adopted various large, stately trees--of all varieties, throughout the colonies--trees that would live for a long time, trees that could be met beneath... and trees suitable for hangings in effigy.
The first Liberty Tree so noted was in Boston, where the people awoke on the morning of August 14, 1765, to find two effigies hung from an elm tree in protest of the despised Stamp Act. When the British withdrew from Boston, in 1775, they cut down the "Liberty Elm," knowing full well what it represented. This tree had been a favorite meeting place for the secret society called the Sons of Liberty (an association that spanned the colonies and included Samuel Adams, James Otis, John Hancock, Paul Revere, Patrick Henry, Joseph Warren, Benjamin Church, John Adams, Thomas Cushing, William Molineux, Oxenbridge Thatcher, and Benedict Arnold).
Now, one purpose of the Stamp Act was to quash dissent--all documents, newspapers, bills of laden, court decrees, and posters etc. were to bear the tax stamp. It was a nominal tax, but one purpose was to end `anonymous' postings on trees at the center of communities, and to suppress criticism of the government (the idea might sound vaguely in vogue these days...). These trees rapidly became sites of active dissent, where people posted documents without the stamp and the trees became Liberty Trees.
The Liberty Trees weren't a passing symbol; most communities had them--though they might be cut down by British troops. Charleston, SC's was cut down and burned when the city was occupied in 1780. They existed in each of the original colonies. They were treated with the utmost regard, affection and devotion for decades after the Revolution.
Now, such trees served a vital community purpose--they were the bulletin boards and blog sites of their communities. The connection was observed years ago....
"The Internet is the Liberty Tree of the 90's." Arnaldo Lerma
I don't imagine that trees will become common poster sites again. But I think that planting--and adopting--Liberty Trees would serve a purpose. There's a long tradition that could be recovered, of gatherings to discuss--and protest--beneath a Liberty Tree. And we can certainly find any number of people who ought to be hung in effigy--an act which the media will no doubt pay attention to--and for that we need appropriate trees.
This isn't the first effort to call for people to adopt and plant Liberty Trees. There's this, for instance. Note that it's being presented here as something that could be done as a patriotic act, spun as support for our troops in Iraq. The trees themselves are "just" trees. It's what we do with them that could matter.
But they are potent symbols, rooted back in the earliest history that developed into the American Republic. If your community had a tree--an official Liberty Tree--in honor of the original trees and patriots, and in emulation of them (a theme that ought to make the idea salable to your local city council...), then it would have a formal symbol of Liberty. People who gathered there to air their grievances with authority, to protest, to call for their rights as citizens and humans to be protected, would have the benefit of the media, eager for a story and an image.
Protests at the Liberty Tree.
Politician Hung in Effigy.
Mayor Bans Meetings at Liberty Tree.
I recommend Liberty Trees. I'm going to see about getting one recognized locally just as soon as I can get out of the house without violating quarantine....
(Oh, and here's what happened with some of the wood, from the last of the Liberty Trees. I hope that protest songs will be played on those instruments)