Home of Today's Common Sense

Published Brownsville Herald March 22, 2009

On last Friday the 13^th of March, the Fox News Channel and commentator Glen Beck launched what could only be called a political support group, The912Project. The supporting Web site “The912Project.com” was overwhelmed from the giant deluge of supporters and had to be rescued by mirror Web sites for some time. I was only able to log on without trouble on Sunday.

I had noted the promotion but didn’t think the response would be that big a deal.

Mr. Beck is a conservative idealist that claims to be Libertarian in thought.

He claims the movement is in response to a failure of the government to adhere to the traditional constitutional principals and that much of the populace was loosing the ideals that have made our country great.

It seems that whenever we are told there is a crisis we give the government more authority to increase control to confiscate money and resources from some to pay support of others, This control has now reached to the schools as they now limit what schools are to be attended by not allowing the less affluent of us choose better schools. The government through the various grants and benefit programs now dictates what we think and what and how children are are taught even to the point schools may keep their activities secret from the parents.

It wasn’t long ago here in Texas that a community would choose to build a school and hire a teacher that would provide an education for their children. In fact it was so important that that was one of the named reasons for the fight for Texas Independence.

It now seems that folks are willing to give up their liberties to entrust that government with unlimited power to dictate how we should think and act in return for money that is confiscated from others. Just a few short years ago folks would go to great lengths to become self sufficient and in times of need the neighbors and religious communities would discretely help them through the rough times.

I am saddened when I see people use the resources given to them to become successful, have the benefits of their successes confiscated by the government to give them to others with no input. I know many families that take pleasure in discretely helping those in need through donations through the church which is more aware of the needs and is much more efficient than the government.

Now we have a crisis where the fine machinations of government control of banking, social engineering of housing and production have gone haywire. The response has been to identify a few crooks and keep them in the media to divert interest in the governmental screw-up. Then they borrow astronomical sums to spend and socially engineer even more. Then they promise to raise taxes ever higher to confiscate even more from the folks that would provide the jobs that we need. Then they seize control of banks and the means of production (cars) with the stimulus program. Worse yet China and the UN accuses our government of being a deadbeat.

Perhaps it is that bad that the government is now so out of control that our representatives rule us by giving out trinkets to keep us quiet.

Mr Beck and his associates thinks that a ground roots movement can bring about change by encouraging more interest and focus on what our rulers are doing to us. It might just help. The same thoughts and concerns have been raised before.

Periodically, the classic movie channels have shown the 1941 Classic “Meet John Doe” with Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck.

This appeal for grass roots interest in the government and your fellow neighbors, was released in 1940, when Nazi sympathizers were gaining a potent voice in America, just prior to our involvement in WWII. Could it be we now have a home induced leaning for National Socialism.
The principal character, ‘Long John’ Willoughby (played by Gary Cooper), has fallen on hard times.

In his public speaking he says that he intends to commit suicide, giving as his reason, ‘I protest against the state of civilization.’ He first explains who a typical Mr. John Doe is – the average little man:

He goes on to say ” I am the man you all know as John Doe. I took that name because it seems to describe…the average man – and that’s me.  And that’s me. Well, it was me before I said I was going to jump off the City Hall roof at midnight on Christmas Eve. Now I guess I’m not average anymore. Now I’m getting all sorts of attention, from big shots too, the mayor and the governor, for instance. They don’t like those articles…”

The premise of the story is further described in his speech more earnest and effective as his own feelings come to the forefront, that it is necessary to get up on their feet and pull together as a team. He talks of his faith in the basic goodness of the common man and promotes brotherly love with one’s neighbor (the guy next door, one’s teammate):

John Doe goes on and says “They’ve started a lot of talk about free people goin’ soft, that we can’t take it. That’s a lot of hooey! A free people can beat the world at anything, from war to tiddlywinks, if we all pull in the same direction.
I know a lot of you are saying, ‘What can I do? I’m just a little punk. I don’t count. Well, you’re dead wrong. The little punks have always counted because in the long run, the character of a country is the sum total of the character of its little punks.
But we’ve all got to get in there and pitch. We can’t win the old ball game unless we have teamwork. And that’s where every John Doe comes in. It’s up to him to get together with his teammate, and your teammate, my friends, is the guy next door to ya. Your neighbor – he’s a terribly important guy, that guy next door. You’re gonna need him and he’s gonna need you, so look him up. If he’s sick, call on him. If he’s hungry, feed him. If he’s out of a job, find him one. To most of you, your neighbor is a stranger, a guy with a barkin’ dog and a high fence around him. Now you can’t be a stranger to any guy that’s on your own team. So tear down the fence that separates you. Tear down the fence and you’ll tear down a lot of hates and prejudices. Tear down all the fences in the country and you’ll really have teamwork.. Wake up, John Doe, you’re the hope of the world.”

What we really need in the here and now as we are faced with serious infringement on our liberty and way of life, is work as a team like our John Doe.

It seems that Mr. Beck may have a good idea because it may just be that bad. I for one will be following the Project and its successes.