First Principles: Of All the Disposition and Habits Which Lead to Political Prosperity, Religion and Morality Are Indispensable Supports

“Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, Religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of Patriotism who should labor to subvert these great Pillars of human happiness — these firmest props of the duties of men and citizens. … Let it simply be asked where is the security for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation desert the oaths…” – President George Washington, in his Farewell Address (1796)

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Seeing Light

The Magic Factory 2022 - Seemingly Sincere
Seeing Light
by Michael Doyle

Living life, I learned to swim
Seeing light through the dim
Trying to learn the rules, then break them
I couldn't be someone else and fake them

Into the battlefield of love
I breathe into the heavens above
Walking barefoot through the fire
Holding fast with only one desire

I've never been the one to stop
Not until I've given all and drop
There's a loneliness in being me
Walking alone in this cold city

It's been an endless mile
To live my life as if on trial
Almost every single day
Your letters make my soul fade away

It sometimes feel as though in Hell
This is the place my soul dwells
As I learn the ends of being strong
And the emptiness feels so wrong

(c) March 20, 2023 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
Mousehole Autumn Respite - Light House Points

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First Principles: He That Would Have His Own Liberty Secure, Must Guard Even His Enemy From Oppression; For If He Violates This Duty, He Establishes A Precedent

“He that would make his own liberty secure, must guard even his enemy from oppression; for if he violates this duty, he establishes a precedent that will reach to himself.” – Thomas Paine (1791)

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Thought For the Day: They Tried To Bury Us. They Didn’t Know We Were Seeds.

“They tried to bury us. They didn’t know we were seeds.” – Dinos Christianopoulos, poet (20 Mar 1931-2020)

It’s interesting how people and sources are lost along the way. It seems the origins of a phrase is that it is actually a couplet. While used more mightily to protest the separation of Mexican parents from their children at the border, it turns out it was originally a different sort of protest. The Greek poetry community sought to exclude the poetry of Dinos Christianopoulos, for reasons I do not know yet. In return, as any good poet would, he wrote another couplet. One that seems to express the sentiments that I feel when looking on the treatment of the founding fathers in contemporary America. I’ll just borrow this expression myself in the forthcoming book applying the first principles of America to contemporary concerns in the modern republic.

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Thought For the Day: It’s Best To Give While Your Hand Is Still Warm

“It’s best to give while your hand is still warm.” – Philip Roth, novelist (19 Mar 1933-2018)

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First Principles: Republics Are Created By the Virtue, Public Spirit, and Intelligence of the Citizens. They Fall, When the Wise Are Banished From the Public Councils

“Republics are created by the virtue, public spirit, and intelligence of the citizens. They fall, when the wise are banished from the public councils, because they dare to be honest, and the profligate are rewarded, because they flatter the people, in order to betray them.” – Joseph Story, Commentaries on the Constitution, 1833

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First Principles: They That Can Give Up Essential Liberty To Purchase A Little Temporary Safety, Deserve Neither Liberty Nor Safety

“They that can give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.” – Benjamin Franklin (1759)

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Thought For the Day: It Is Better To Prevent Crimes Than Punish Them

“It is better to prevent crimes than to punish them.” – Cesare Beccaria, philosopher and politician (15 Mar 1738-1794)

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Thought For the Day: When An Individual Is Protesting Society’s Refusal To Acknowledge His Dignity As A Human Being, His Very Act of Protest Confers Dignity On Him

“When an individual is protesting society’s refusal to acknowledge his dignity as a human being, his very act of protest confers dignity on him.” – Bayard Rustin, civil rights activist (17 Mar 1912-1987)

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First Principles: Enlightened Statesmen Will Not Always Be At the Helm

“Enlightened statesmen will not always be at the helm.” – James Madison (1787)

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