“I want the people of America to be able to work less for the government and more for themselves. I want them to have the rewards of their own industry. This is the chief meaning of freedom. Until we can reestablish a condition under which the earnings of the people can be kept by the people, we are bound to suffer a very severe and distinct curtailment of our liberty.” – Calvin Coolidge (1872-1933)
“Let us then, at the time appointed, gather around their sacred remains and garland the passionless mounds above them with the choicest flowers of springtime. Let us raise above them the dear old flag they saved from dishonor. Let us, in this solemn presence, renew our pledges to aid and assist those whom they have left among us as sacred charges upon the nation’s gratitude—the soldier’s and sailor’s widow and orphan.“ – Maj. Gen. John Logan (1868)
“That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved.” – Richard Henry Lee, Patriot and Father to Robert E. Lee
Please pay attention to the wording here. Richard Henry Lee was an “Anti-Federalist”. His understanding of each state being free and independent was the original understanding under the Articles of Confederation that founded this nation prior to the Constitution creating a stronger federal bond between the states under the federal government located, of course, in Washington, D.C. This is the understanding that was among the controversies, that included slavery, leading to the Civil War. It is not as though the South en masse suddenly rebelled against the Federal government (Union). This was what led to the idea that states could elect to secede from that Union. It is sickening to read, over and over again, the simplistic notion that the South was suddenly betraying the United States, almost as sickening as the institution of slavery itself. To suddenly completely discount men such as Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson, is to get our nation’s history totally wrong in favor of an ill-informed narrative. Yes, we were right in preserving the Union. But many of the men on the opposing side had strong philosophical convictions too. This is why Lincoln ended the war as he did, insisting that our nation have malice toward NONE.
For Sierra (At Age 14)
by Michael Doyle
Though sometimes now, I have to squint
To get the clue of what it is you meant
This poem is for you as you reach 14
Growing into one of my favorite human beings
Whether it's building robots or coding
Or talking about issues you'll be voting
Not a day passes by without you amazing me
You've grown from a child to truly dazing me
With all the things that you say and you do
Even the things you want to believe in as true
All seem to be part of you at the age of 14
Growing into one of my favorite human beings
I hold my breath as you get just a little older
Speaking and acting confidently, being bolder
Standing your ground for all the things you believe
And I see you can do anything that you conceive
With all the things that you say and you do
Even the things you want to believe are true
The dreams you share and make you care at 14
Growing into one of my favorite human beings
Please keep her safe God is one thing that I pray
You are growing up in a confusing time and day
And I see your capable mind grappling with hesitation
As you take on this world with all its questions
Never lost within any sort of abstraction or illusion
I watch you take the world head-on without confusion
But seeking to make your own path and have your say
Leaving me prouder of you with every single passing day
With all those things I hear you say and that you do
The bigger and lesser things you want to believe are true
All seem impressive as parts of you as you become 14
And are growing into one of my very favorite human beings
(c) May 26, 2023 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
“Knowledge is, in every country, the surest basis of public happiness.” – George Washington, First Annual Message, 1790
“There is no remedy so easy as books, which if they do not give cheerfulness, at least restore quiet to the most troubled mind.” – Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, author (26 May 1689-1762)
Beyond the Thunder Dome
by Michael Doyle
It took a day to really sink in
To catch my peace and reach Zen
A private dancer left the building
To rest in Heaven, if God be willing
Rock-n-roll has lost its acid queen
The hips that hollered a human being
The high voltage surge of pure energy
Love is everything to do with her legacy
A southern kitchen brewed her mystique
A bright light neighbor at her peak
Her musical treasure will keep on giving
As long as her memories keep living
I speak her name quietly to myself
Pulling her vinyl off my shelf
To play yet another one of her songs
Through the hours of all night long
For all my life, it seems she was on fire
With a will to live and rarely ever tire
A human expression of frayed limits of the scale
That became, in our age, a living folktale
Personifying the tenderness of a woman done wrong
She sang like a siren and taught love can be strong
A life lived with rivers deep and mountains high
The churning waters of eternity heave a silent sigh
My ear searches for a melodic growl splendid in mystery
From an iconic star who returns to the dust of history
That soul survivor taught her lessons to us all
She was no victim but an empress who found her call
Seldom has there lived such an example of excellence
Demonstrated on the stages of her life with relevance
A little something inside of every note of every tune
And though she lived long, she is gone far too soon
(c) May 25, 2023 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
“Nature is ever at work building and pulling down, creating and destroying, keeping everything whirling and flowing, allowing no rest but in rhythmical motion, chasing everything in endless song out of one beautiful form into another.” – John Muir, Naturalist and explorer (1838-1914)
“Children should be educated and instructed in the principles of freedom.” – John Adams, Defense of Constitutions, 1787
The Wonderous California Coast
by Michael Doyle
We are escorted by dolphin laughter
Coming from guardians who are after
The company that they find in play
Along the bow of our boat, much like yesterday
When mighty Calypso sailed the coastal deeps
Along the coral reefs to the kelp bed keeps
The waters are just right from Baja to Alto
Until, as divers, we submerge into the waters below
Into the kelp bed forest as tall as sequoia trees
That grow and feed this ocean world delicately
Just beyond this, the squid breed in commotion
Proving love knows every kind of its own notions
The ultimate goal is survival and sustainability
Though it's not long ago, we didn't know man's capacity
To feed too much and do too much, as it was not known
Our ability to destroy, as nature and time have shown
It was mankind's error of knowledge and wounded heart
That we have reached the point of tearing our world apart
Imperiling the world, we have to chart another course
And protect our last and greatest remaining resource
Our blue planet stands out in its beautiful distinction
That its finite drops of water stand between us and extinction
We travel this journey that together, we all must make
Along California's coast, filled with beauty and heartbreak
Down to the Sea of Cortez with it's renowned aquarium view
Filled with biodiversity turned to scarcity, sadly true
It is the fault of mankind for being oblivious and blind
To not see beyond our noses to see what we would find
San Jose Island, Mexico; erases all sense of pretense
From not knowing that water is needed for our existence
Somber cacti reach their arms upward into the blue skies
Sometimes living 300 years before they begin to die
Greedily efficient, living since George Washington's days
There is only one water system under the sun's burning rays
This is the reminder of the battle that all life gives
And unfortunately, we must give our protection to live
(c) May 24, 2023 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
Văn Học Ngoại Biên — Literature Beyond
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