South Carolina and the Ron Paul Revolution

There is one word that one must grasp in order to understand traditional Southern political thought.

The word is LIBERTY, that free and unfettered pursuit of one's God-given, inalienable rights.

It was the understanding of our forebears that governments are instituted among men to secure our God-given rights and derive their authority, or just powers, from the consent of the governed and from no other place. I concur.

When our liberty is threatened or impeded in any way, another word surfaces: FREEDOM. Because governments are established to secure our liberty, should they illegally seek deprive us of our rights, we have a duty to free ourselves from the offending government and by altering or abolishing it.

When freedom from impediment proves to be unachievable, another word will inevitably finds itself on the lips of patriots: REVOLUTION!

When the British had overstepped their bounds and sought to fetter the ancient liberties of our people, South Carolinians were among the first to resist and demand freedom.

General William Moultrie, against all odds, stood against and defeated the greatest Navy in the world as he engaged the British fleet of Sir Peter Parker at Sullivan's Island, South Carolina, on June 28, 1776.

Six days later the colonies declared their independence from the British Empire and thus set into motion the revolution that would eventually free colonies from the tyrannical influence of this foreign government.

When the colonies established their freedom from Great Britain, they established a government based on the principles laid out in the Declaration of Independence and strictly enumerated the powers of the newly formed Federal government so as to avoid the situation from which they had recently been entangled.

This was accomplished by the ratification of the U.S. Constitution by the several free and independent states.

Sadly, this new government-- the creation of the several states-- failed to execute its proper functions, overstepped its due bounds, and began to threaten the ancient liberties of our people, as had the British only a couple of generations before.

Once again, the word liberty was on the lips of our people and they determined, by solemn convention, to declare themselves independent from the tyrannical combinations which that had begun to consolidate federal power in the Northern states.

We (South Carolina) were the first of the Southern States to do so, becoming a free and independent Republic on December 20, 1860.

Since the close of that war, we the people of South Carolina have continued to resist tyranny as best as we could through the limited means available to us. As many began to believe once again in the American system, our people began to seek for redress via the ballot box. This has proved to be ineffective.

We have been seduced by the false dichotomy of Republican and Democrats; Liberal and Conservative.

We have allowed the Republicans to delude us into believing that they are conservative and would restore our rights if they could only gain control of the government.

Well, they have and we find ourselves less free than we were back when we had that scallywag playboy from Arkansas in the White House.

However, after a long train of abuses, lies, and betrayals, revolution is once again in the air; the sacred word LIBERTY is once more being spoken.

It is being evoked by a small, unassuming Congressman from Texas, Ron Paul.

His candidacy for the Republican nomination for President has thrown a spark on a powder keg and has ignited a revolution!

It is not a revolution of cannon, sword, and shot, but rather a revolution of ideas-- an awakening to the traditional understanding of the purpose of government-- indeed its only purpose-- to secure our liberties!

Our liberties can only be secured by having our government strictly chained and bound by the Constitution.

Like a lone voice crying in the wilderness, Ron Paul has become the voice of the old struggle which has one more surfaced after countless efforts to efface the word LIBERTY from the American political lexicon.

It is a cry to return to the rule of law, a return to the principles of our founding fathers. It is a rejection of entitlement and innovation. It is a battle cry of freedom!

The Ron Paul Revolution is unlike any revolution in the annuals of American history. It's not being fought on any traditional political turf. Its most effective battles, in fact, have been waged on that untamed and unregulated frontier we call cyber-space.

It is here that patriots have been able to bypass the traditional gate keepers of public information-- the television, the radio, and the press-- all of whom have sold the people out and will, no doubt, continue to do so.

What do we do?

We have found our liberty under attack and we have been unsuccessful in securing our freedoms from the so-called conservative candidates being sold to us by the Party and their allies in the media.

To the people of South Carolina I say this:

THE TIME HAS COME to take your rightful place at the head of the column!

THE TIME HAS COME to rally your family, friends, and colleagues around the banner of LIBERTY and demand that our ancient liberties and God given rights shall no longer be trampled under foot!

THE TIME HAS COME to rally behind the Texan!

THE TIME HAS COME TO RESOLVE that we will be the first state in the Union to put a man on the ballot who is not a politician, but a statesman; a man dedicated to restoring the rights and liberties for which our ancestors fought, bled, and died!

When SOUTH CAROLINA takes the lead and RON PAUL wins the South Carolina Republican Primary, our sister states of the South will follow.

Let is not shrink before our obligations or shirk our responsibilities as the free men and women of the great state of South Carolina!

The fight is here and the fight is now. It's time to cast your lot with LIBERTY and join the RON PAUL REVOLUTION!

Confederate Flag Hanging

The Confederate flag is just as much a part of U.S. history as any other flag flown in the United States before, during or after the Civil War. Therefore it should be treated with the same due respect as any other flag. Hanging the flag in this manner is an insult to the decendants that fought for it, right or wrong...

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I found the article linked above quite troubling, but not for the reasons you might expect.
Although I think Mr. Sims' "art" display is vulgar and disrespectful, I fully support his right to express his views in whatever manner he deems appropriate and would not for any reason wish to see him censored.
The commander of the local Sons of Confederate Veterans chapter, Robert Hurst, called the display "offensive, objectionable and tasteless” and has petitioned the museum to remove the display along with other pieces of Sims’ work which is currently on display. There has also been talk of taking legal action to have this display forcibly removed.
I agree that the display is all of the things that Commander Hurst says that it is, but it is wrong to demand that something offensive be forcibly removed from the public domain.
We must not be guilty of hypocrisy!
If the Battle Flag of the Confederacy offends others, it is our duty to try to educate them on its true meaning. It is not our duty, however, to force others— as misguided as they may be— to be hindered in theirs first amendment right of free speech.
Yes, we should object to the mean-spirited and disrespectful treatment of that flag and be vocal about it, but it must be done with the view that we expect the same treatment when it comes to the display of our symbols.
Being offended is never a reason to demand that something be censored. He cannot ask people be tolerant of southern symbols when we deny the same rights to our enemies.
If truth is on our side, then men like Sims can only further our cause as we use the opportunity to educate the public about why it is that we object to displays of this nature.
We could have used this event as an opportunity to take the high moral ground because, until we kicked up a fuss and began to try and deny this “artist” his constitutional rights, he was the aggressor.
Be mad, be angry, and be offended, but do not stray from the principles for which our ancestors fought and which we claim also to love, viz., freedom and our God-given right to govern ourselves.
If the museum, of their own free will and accord, removes the display because of public sentiment, then we can claim a moral victory. If it is forced down by any legal maneuvering or threats against this man’s right to express his misguided views, it will be a moral loss.
We must maintain our honour AT ALL COSTS if we are to defeat the enemies of our cultural heritage.