The Frist shall be last
The haiku was just a warmup. The idea of amending the Constitution in order to deprive certain Americans of their rights is like carving faces of American presidents onto a mountain sacred to the Lakota. It is an unbelievably arrogant assumption of the right to impose one’s moral beliefs simply because one has the power to do so.
There was a time in this nation’s history when “Might makes right” was anathema. Allow me to digress. The Bellingham Theatre Guild recently produced the musical 1776. I am not a big fan of this play, despite its very accurate depiction of how our Founding Fathers and Mothers came to write the Declaration of Independence. The story this play tells is an important one. Unfortunately, the music gets in the way.
1776 has a very important story to tell. It is the story of how difficult it is for free people to agree on anything. The authors should have told the story without compromise. Unfortunately, they chose to dilute their message by including music. That would not necessarily have been a bad thing if the music had added anything to the play. It did not. There is not a single musical number in the production that has ever remained in anyone’s memory five minutes after the play is over. That is a sure sign of an unsuccessful musical. More, the music detracts from the story rather than adding to it.
Enough theatrical criticism. The fact remains that 1776 tells a seminal story about the power of protest and independent thinking. Recent events in this nation have called into question the patriotism of those who protest and demand the right to think for themselves. 1776 reminds us that this nation was founded on protest and critical thinking. Something sadly lacking in this nation today.
One of the lessons of 1776 is that compromise is often necessary to achieve the greater goal. Firebrand John Adams had to compromise his beliefs on slavery in order to secure the agreement of the Southern delegates to ratify the Declaration. Wise old Benjamin Franklin convinced him to do so in order to accomplish the greater good. Choose your fights. Win the immediate battle and the greater war will take care of itself. Eventually.
Bill Frist is a worthy successor to his segregationist predecessor, Trent Lott. He would have us fight another losing battle against the rights of individuals. Like most of his Republican colleagues, he is a male version of the Stepford Wife. They do everything in their power to make us feel good while undermining our individual freedoms and our power to think for ourselves. The object here is control. King George III wanted to control us and failed. Every half-baked religious loonie wants to control us. Wants to make us conform. Wants to make us fit into a common mold. One wonders why they resist cloning.
Bill Frist would have us consider a Constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage. My editorial assistant is Canadian. He is a marvelous resource when it comes to accessing an outsider’s view of American peculiarities. He asked a very pertinent question today: “Wasn’t the Constitution written to insure freedom?”
“Well, of course,” I replied.
“So how can someone amend that document to take away freedom?” he asked. “I thought the Constitution was received wisdom, like the Old Testament.”
He has a gift for making Americans uncomfortable.
“Well,” I said, “the Constitution is a living document that can be amended, just like the Old Testament was amended by the New Testament. There are 27 amendments to the Constitution. One took away our right to drink and one gave it back.”
The good news is that it is not easy to amend the Constitution. Our Founding Fathers and Mothers made it difficult for a very good reason. Don’t fix it if it ain’t broke. A very American sentiment. Our Constitution is designed to protect freedom, not restrict it. Bill Frist and his fascist fellow travelers don’t have a prayer.
Our Constitutional freedoms are designed so that can they can only be expanded, not restricted. Even the conservative Supreme Court has gotten the message. Fuck with our freedom and you fuck with what makes us American. Do so at your eternal peril.
1:49:44 AM 
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