MAY
1, 2006 --
Google "Federalist
57" and you will, I think, find Lonely Pamphleteer Review on the
first page -- perhaps in the middle.
I mention this because Google has apparently been kind in response to my attempts
-- over more than a decade -- to call attention to the populism clearly
stated in the first half of 57 which, among other things, calls for leaders
to work for the "common good of the society."
I also mention this because David Brooks, in his April 27 New York Times column
has cited Michael Tomasky's essay in The American Prospect (Brooks does
not mention Tomasky is editor of this publication) recommending that Democrats
work for the common good.
Perhaps had Mr. Brooks noticed any
of the emails I have sent him, he might have beaten Mr. Tomasky to the suggestion,
which echoes the advice we have in Federalist 57.
Curiously, the Brooks column appeared on the 184th anniversary of the birth
of Ulysses S. Grant.
As the photos with this LPR posting indicate, I attended the ceremony at Grant's
Tomb marking the anniversary of
the general's birth. The guest speaker, Brigadier General Patrick Finnegan,
Dean of the Academic Board at the United States Military Academy, spoke about
"character," and "duty, honor and selfless service for the country."
The president who put Grant in charge of the Union army, during the Civil War,
said, at Gettysburg, that our government was of, by and for the people.
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Guest
speaker Brigadier General Patrick Finnegan, Dean of the
Academic Board, United States Military Academy.
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Today, Lincoln
might say that that was the aim of the Founders, but the political
parties seem to have reverted to the aristocratic approach: government
of, by and for the insiders.
All the advice we need for political revival is in the first half of 57. It
would be neat if the media folks with access to lots of people took note of
57 -- and recognized that "common good" is not a new political concept,
but was the purpose of the Founding Fathers.
All we need as exemplars of selfless dedication to the country are the men
and
women in the military who, like those from West Point at Grant's Tomb, honor
the spirit of Federalist 57 -- and protect the liberty we hold so dear.
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