Did You Ever See a Dream Walking?

Did You Ever See a Dream Walking?

"There he goes.  One of God's own prototypes.  Some kind of high powered mutant never even considered for mass production.  Too weird to live and too rare to die."  -  H.S.T.

"Even if one takes every reefer madness allegation of the prohibitionists at face value, marijuana prohibition has done far more harm to far more people than marijuana ever could."  - W.F.B.

By J.M. Hamilton  (3-3-13)

Well yes Mr. Crosby, I did see a dream walking... but this lady dons grey.  And not only do I adore the lady, but when I stand before my maker to answer for my countless sins, the one most likely to land me into the greatest amount of trouble is my near pagan idolatry of our individual freedoms and in particular, our first amendment right.  I don't know, somewhere I may have run afoul of the commandment which posits we shall place no other gods before Her?  I pray not.  That said, J.M.H. believes it is the democratic duty of all Americans to remain educated, and speak out, on the problems this nation faces, and over the last three years, this blog has done that and more.  Speaking out does not mean you dislike your country; but rather, quite the opposite, it can mean that through one's scribbling, you hope to make her a better place.  Besides career politicians hate it when their constituents awaken from their somnolence, so get involved and stay involved.

The first amendment is, by far, the freedom that makes this country great; even if it is often abused by politicians, lawyers, indeed SCOTUS, to further such aims as the buying of U.S. elections by the plutocracy, under a Citizens United decision, et al.

This right, however, should never be taken for granted, and it is under assault daily, whether it's China's communist regime blocking Google, or our own government's lack of transparency, and the influence the Orwellian named Patriot Act has on America's thoughts, dialogue, and writing.  If only the same passion and vigor the NRA and its membership places on the second amendment were transferred into protecting the first amendment, J.M.H. believes this nation would be a much better place.

Chief among those who have influenced my thinking in this regard, are two gentlemen who are no longer with us.  The anniversary of their respective passing was just last month, February.  Both men have influenced me in so many ways, perhaps as much as my own father; both men were iconic writers, with singular styles; both men were iconoclasts, individualists, and libertarian to varying extent; and both men were at complete opposite ends of the political spectrum, albeit meeting full circle with a love of country, freedom, and a deep distrust of the establishment (that is before both became - to differing degrees - apart of the establishment).  At the very end, both men were united by a disdain for the Iraq war, and the perpetrators of that war.

I am writing of course of Messrs. William F. Buckley and Hunter S. Thompson, a more polarizing duo never walked the face of the earth.  Their respective writing influenced generations (and my guess is many more to come); and in the case of Mr. Buckley, his writing spawned a political movement that governed this nation for the better part of three decades.  Like President Reagan's words, Mr. Buckley's movement was arguably twisted to a very bad end, and some believe, he came to recognize this near his end.  Like God taking away Beethoven's hearing, Mr. Thompson was ultimately rendered mute, to a sizable degree, by the personal excesses he described in his writing.  Both men -fighting the social and political conventional wisdom of their day - were right about so much, and had the daring, the will, and courage to lay it out in writing.

Neither of them could have done this without the first amendment.

And for both of them, no matter one's political leanings, we can all be thankful.  Not just for their words and their ideas, but for their meritorious acts of defiance.  How quintessentially American.

I find the magnetic draw from both these individuals to this very day tugging at my mind, body and soul, just as I am attracted to the living authors, Mlles. Dowd and Noonan.

And the Lady in Grey who habituates my dreams?  Well that would be the New York Times, the greatest newspaper ever produced.  And to think, I used to believe she was just another communist rag.  Today, I believe she's on the verge of documenting and ushering in a new age.

P.S.   I've been down on the GOP for sometime, but they should be applauded for holding the Dems accountable to the sequester they originated and agreed upon.  Lets hope the GOP does not fold.  If the stalemate rests with the GOP opposed to additional taxes, and the Dems opposed to spending cuts.... well then that leaves cutting billions in waste and fraud, to fund each party's respective pet projects.  Have at it, and what's more, give the President a line item veto and/or the power to impound funds.

 Copyright JM Hamilton Publishing 2013