Friday, August 14, 2009
The real Maverick revisited
An accidental link reminded me of the real Maverick and his classic manifesto for the Agrarian movement. I hadn't read it in a couple years, so I went back and found this:
The part I've italicized sounds mighty familiar, doesn't it?
We need a political party that supports the last sentence. Neither existing party works toward those goals. Both existing parties serve China and Goldman Sachs at the expense of all other businessmen, farmers and workers. ¶ 7:27 AM
But we shall be very serious, and the name of the book shall be In Blood and Ink, though it might well be Our Constitution and What Is In It, for, as we shall come to see, there is far more than ink and paper to our Constitution,—there is blood in it. ... Perhaps best of all I should simply have dubbed it The Grocery Man's Constitution, since its price is about that of a good beefsteak, an expensive two dozen eggs, or, say, three gallons of Andy Mellon's or John D's gas.
In truth and fact, groceries are at the bottom of every constitution, and they come from the land. If you don't eat, and in comparative peace and freedom, you have no constitution.
This book is written not for New or Old Dealers, but for everyone who lives under the sun of our country, and wants a living American Constitution. I have my opinions, of course, and will express them. But we Americans are getting too namby-pamby; we are afraid to look at the other fellow's point of view, so we all sit down and blink through the kind of propaganda that warms the cockles of our irritated and partisan hearts.
If one does not approve of the President, one reads a Hate-Roosevelt book, and moons over the Old American Spirit which, alas, is no more. If he is a New Dealer, he reads a New Deal book, and moons over the Progressive Spirit which he hopes is still alive. In other words, people usually get a book with which they agree in advance.
But aside from our views and prejudices, what do we all want in society?
For my part, I want the businessman to make a fair return on his money, the farmer to have good crops and sell them at a profit, and the worker to get good wages.
The part I've italicized sounds mighty familiar, doesn't it?
We need a political party that supports the last sentence. Neither existing party works toward those goals. Both existing parties serve China and Goldman Sachs at the expense of all other businessmen, farmers and workers. ¶ 7:27 AM
