4th July Post

4th of July Message to Ohio PatriotsSunday, July 3, 2011
11:58 AMFrom: "Tom Zawistowski" View contact details

To: "Carolyn McLaughlin, Sectretary" Dear Carolyn,

It is customary on the Fourth of July to recall the epic events that created the greatest nation and political system in the history of man. The signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776 changed the course of human history and led to the writing of the US Constitution which is one of the greatest documents ever created. It is fitting for us, as the primary benefactors of this incredible achievement by our forefathers, to celebrate the individual freedom, liberty and rights that these documents provide to each of us - which are still lacking for so many millions of people around the world.

As I sit this morning, July 3, 2011, in a hotel room in Columbus, Ohio, after two incredible days of learning from and bonding with over 1,000 fellow Patriots at the We the People Convention, my thoughts are on another equally epic event in our nation’s history on this holiday. On July 3, 1863, the final decisive battles of the Battle of Gettysburg were being fought, as the fate of our great nation hung in the balance. Confederate General Robert E. Lee had made the fateful decision to push for a victory that would decide the Civil War. Nearly 8,000 Americans would die on this weekend and nearly 27,000 more would be wounded as our nation struggled to end a nearly 100-year debate to determine if we truly believed the words in the Declaration of Independence that said "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness," and end the scourge of slavery once and for all. By July 4th, the battle was over and the Union was saved by Patriots who defended our nation.

The Battle of Gettysburg weighs heavily on my mind this holiday as I am more convinced than ever that our nation is once again divided along lines that threaten our very existence and that we are now engaged in another civil war. We have reached a place, after nearly 70 years of progressive government policies, where nearly 50% of Americans no longer believe in individual rights and freedom and the Constitution. They believe that our rights come from Government and not "nature's God" as our forefathers explained in the Declaration of Independence. They believe that Government should solve their problems, enforce "social justice," and provide for their medical, financial, educational and personal needs. They do not believe as our forefathers did that "All men are created equal," but instead believe that it is the role of government to make sure that all men are literally equal through the forced redistribution of wealth from those that do achieve personal success to those who do not. We are at a time where many Americans are at the point of paying more than 50% of their total income in taxes and fees imposed by the local, state and federal governments. I ask, are we not in a state of economic slavery when citizens are involuntarily forced to give up more than half of their wages for government to redistribute to whichever groups or individuals it sees fit?

The other half of the nation believe that individual rights and freedom are what gives individual Americans the incentive to take personal risks, that result in both failures and successes, which ultimately drive the productivity of the American worker that produces the great wealth and standard of living that we all enjoy. This other half of the nation believes, like our forefathers, that government is an obstruction to their "unalienable Rights" to freely pursue life, liberty and happiness. This half of the nation sees government that routinely violates the Constitution and is working against the will of the people to enforce its own will, the will of an elite governing class, upon the people. As Thomas Jefferson said so well, “When the people fear the government, there is tyranny. When the government fears the people, there is liberty.” This half of our nation feels the force of a tyrannical ruling class that does not believe in "government of the people, by the people, and for the people" as Abraham Lincoln affirmed in his Gettysburg Address was the principal that our soldiers so valiantly died to defend and preserve at Gettysburg.

I am convinced on this 4th of July weekend that we are engaged in another civil war that threatens our nation, our Constitution, and the very concept that free men and women can participate in self-governance. I believe that the governing class has been waging this war without much notice by the average American for over 70 years, but that the start of the TEA Party/Patriot movement was the true beginning of this critical fight to decide if this great political experiment that is the United State of America can withstand the test of time. I am convinced that our "Battle of Gettysburg" has begun and that it will be fought out in the streets and neighborhoods of Ohio in the days and months ahead, culminating in the November, 2011 election in which Senate Bill 5 and the Ohio Health Care Amendment will be decided by the votes of Ohio citizens.

In Senate Bill 5 we will decide if the people of Ohio determine how our government and our schools are run or if government worker unions determine how they our run. In Senate Bill 5 we will determine if the people of Ohio will decide how much they want to pay for government services or if government employee workers’ unions will decide how much government must take from the people of Ohio to pay the wages it demands for government workers. In Senate Bill 5 we will determine if the citizens of Ohio will decide what kind of schools and what kind of education we want for our children, or if teachers’ unions will decide what what kind of schools our children can have. In the Ohio Health Care Amendment we will decide if the people of Ohio have the right to decide what kind of health care they want and what to pay for it, or if the Federal Government can dictate what heath care you can have and how much they will forcibly take from the citizens of Ohio to pay for it. In short, we will decide if we want government of the people, by the people and for the people, or if we want to cede our right to self-governance and give that power to a ruling class that believes it knows better than us what is best for us.

On this 4th of July, 2011, I urge all citizens of Ohio, and our nation, to reflect, both upon the Declaration of Independence and upon the sacrifice and meaning of the Battle of Gettysburg. I then ask each and every one of you to decide what you believe in and commit to personally defend your position this November. For I truly believe the very fate of the nation hangs in the balance and that We the People must determine the outcome of this epic battle.

Sincerely,

Tom Zawistowski
Executive Director
Portage County TEA Party
4682 State Route 43
Kent, OH 44240