The Good Rubs off on you
Tradere posteris vs. Ex Nihilo
Two Latin terms come to mind this fine July 3rd morning:
Tradere posteris - To hand down from previous generations
and
Ex Nihilo - From nothing
CDR Salamander shared this tweet from @VikingRobVWO about General Patton
After reading this and knowing how my grandfather did more than fight under General Patton, I can see how many of those traits trickled down to some of his boots on the ground. And how those characteristics were passed down to the next generation.
You most definitely can tell who came from a military background and who didnāt; there is a reason for it.
The founding document of this country was not written ex nihilo.
Look at the rough draft Thomas Jefferson wrote before the final version.
He may have written it, but he had a lot of input and debate before the final version was agreed upon.
This declaration has worked for 250 years. And the next great declaration was only 13 years apart, written in France but NOT ex-nihilo.
In fact, surprisingly, Thomas Jefferson helped write with the French Marquis de Lafayette the founding document of the French republic and signed by the King of France before he was beheaded, talk about irony.
āDeclaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizenā
Unfortunately, it āforgotā to mention God and a higher power, as they killed and beheaded everyone who was not on their Christmas mailing list
Because without a moral tether, man accepts one in the form of an emperor.
But the French are still the French. And this creed still has the timeless essence of Loving your Neighbor as Yourself.
Unfortunately, there is one dogma, creed that is creatio ex nihilo and should be sold in the Fiction section of any self-respecting bookstore.
The US fought 250 years ago a king without representation, and the same goes for any other ideology that forces upon you taxation, expropriation, without representation
and keeping the temperature at 78.6 degrees.
That is why Communism and Socialism (when you run out of other peopleās money) fail. Itās an idea that is ex nihilo, nothing.
And nothing leads to nothing - Ex nihilo nihil fit
While we celebrate the Fourth with fireworks and air conditioning at 60 degrees, realize that the enemies of freedom are not even hiding the fact anymore, and it may take more than the ballot box to remove this scourge.
But Iām going to enjoy what a good idea, and good men do, as it has rubbed off on us 250 years later.
Make it a memorable weekend or as they used to say in Latin
Carpe Diem
Eric
What are your thoughts about the Declaration of Independence?
