Warhead said it was 1789.
To:
Guests
From:
Edward J. Mann
Event:
Book signing party at Mann Manor for On Government and the People
Introductory Speech
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome. Before I get down to signing your purchases, I would like to say few words in regards to both the book and matters of the Union. I do plan to keep this short, so please be patient with me, and then you can join me for a drink in the courtyard soon.
Firstly, there is a sentiment growing, surprisingly so soon, that in a case where the federal government turn out to be a tyrant of injustice, the states should be able to secede to form their own nation. Ladies and gentlemen, God and you all know that I am an advocate of states' rights in this government. A nation is nothing more than a lable placed upon a group of people gathered in a common location ruled by a common law in order to form a society. Family is a lable which represents group of individuals, where the father is the chief; city represents group of families, where the mayor is the chief; state represents group of cities, where the governor is the chief, and finally, United States, our nation, represents a group of states. Therefore, surely, states' rights must be adhered to and no single body can be a tyrant over another. If a single body were to oppress its people, impose unjust taxes for the tyrant's greed, and, or persecute innocents then by all means, we must rebel, as we have done and gained freedom from Britain. In all cases, ironically, we must then, set up a better government, where the governor, in conceptual sense, is an enlightened man, looking to serve the people, rather than rule them. As Thomas Hobbes had claimed in his own book,
The Leviathan, a governing body in a group of people, in order to form a livable society, is necessary to avoid anarchy and return of men back into lawless wild. Certainly, in all circumstances, we all must sacrifice some of our freedom to this governing body in order to protect our freedom.
Suppose there is a murderer, who can, by whatever twisted logic of his mind, justify his murders. Does that mean, as a benign government, his wishes must be respected? Of course not, we will most definitely lock him up, try him, and put him to death. You and I have all lost our freedom to do misdeeds by committing ourselves as a part of this government, and rightly so! And just as in the matters of the states, a single, or even a faction of states, should not be able to simply overthrow the Constitution and the government just because they want to gain unfair advantage over another states, or an opposing faction. States should be able to govern themselves in matters regarding themselves alone. But when there are disputes between states, then all powers to the federal government.
Do not get me wrong, ladies and gentlemen, I am not saying such atrocities are occuring now; merely an example. But hear this; what is happening is that there is a sentiment fostering an idea, and this idea, is a threat to the nation. A certain individual, and his group, was saying that if a government were to get out of hand, then the states should rebel and form another nation. I see many nodding of heads, and I agree. But, a political party advocating that idea? That is like a person walking into a bank saying, "I will borrow this money, but if you raise to interest rate unreasonably high, then too bad, I'm not paying it back." Is that a right attitude to approach the situation? The bank will certainly not let the person borrow that sum of money. There is a fine line between pursuit of justice and speculative treason. We have formed our nation not long ago, and there are people thinking about secession? Instead, they should be thinking about ways to improve the nation instead of getting together to abandon it just because there is a possibility, however remote. But I must give some credit for those individuals for thinking so far ahead worrying about the welfare of the people. At the same time, however, they could be plotting treason. No, I do not mean they are, but I'm merely saying that there is a possibility. Then, by their own logic, we should be recruiting militia and raising army to put down these potential-could-be-rebels? No, no, of course not. What we should be doing now is to get on with our lives and deal with the rebels when they do rebel, secede when governments become a tyrant, and fight when we are at war. And in conclusion, therefore, let's get on with this party.
