Today, I feel the need to cover the roots of democracy.  That is to say, all of the good elements that came together to define the value of our democratic ways.  

I begin with a famous quote, “Give me liberty or give me death.”  This has been repeated often enough to make it a platitude.  As such, it has lost its original personalized fervor.  

Historically speaking, it summarizes the importance of liberty through democracy within a colonized country under British oppression.  A democracy important enough to risk death.  Putting it into context might clarify its impact.

Patrick Henry’s argument, on March 23, 1775, went something like this, “Gentlemen.  If we were base enough to desire it, it is now too late to retire from the contest. There is no retreat but in submission and slavery! Our chains are forged! Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston! The war is inevitable and let it come! I repeat it, sir, let it come. It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, “give me liberty or give me death!”

That was a powerful speech in those dark times, suffering strong divisions among the Americans.  There were those loyal to the king but others seeking an unknown freedom to self-govern.  It would loosely be fashioned after the ancient Athenian democracy and the ancient Roman republic.  The psychological tendency for “no change” was strong, although forced change seemed inevitable.

A government under a king was well known.  But self-government was unheard of.  A fearful adventure to say the least.  Therefore, this democracy would be known as “The Great Experiment.”  It was.  

They were navigating through uncharted waters, as it were.  They, as their ancestors before them, grew up under monarchy.  Therefore, the American majority knew little of democracy, if anything.  And yet, the need for change was overwhelming.

Many conditions, ideologies, and local pressures against change permeated colonial America.  It was not a matter of Democrats verses Republicans.  It was a matter of life and death; to fight for an untested cause.  Notwithstanding, the fact that there existed no examples of national democracy, many Americans were still prompted to risk fighting against the world’s strongest nation; England?  I think the answer is obvious.  

They had suffered monarchy, and saw their chance to escape.  With our current president, however, it is like witnessing evolution in reverse.  Personally, I pray we do not go back to an inferior government for future generations to suffer.  We owe it to the future to fight for a democracy that proved sufficient for our forefathers and worthy of our trust.

Dying for liberty was attested to during the revolutionary war and many more to follow.  Great sacrifices were made and lives lost over the centuries; a great cost paid.  It was to preserve this freedom to choose and self-govern.  

Any politician, be they civil, state, or federal, taking advantage of our rights, or in the slightest way, altering them to suit selfish purposes, treat those sacrifices with disdain.  I call that treason.  If we want quality, we must invest in it; quality in produces quality out.

A true democracy celebrates differences.  It is in this that we find better solutions through learning new information.  The passive or static way is by observing and thinking.  The kinetic form is questioning, taking notes and acting upon them.  Both forms should include diversity.  

If properly done, both forms become the backbone that supports democracy void of dictatorial tendences.  This is why the kinetic form utilizes debates.  The ultimate goal should be to put democracy to work in congress.

We cannot, in all consciousness, afford even a particle of our democracy to be jeopardized.  That would be the thin end of the totalitarian wedge allowing erosion to set in.  We must now fight to deserve it, as our forefathers fought to gain it.  Do not allow their efforts to dissipate.  

It takes decades and centuries of sacrifice and fine tuning to establish a viable functioning model.  It can take only a few months to destroy it.  Therefore, any threat, even a hint, against democracy must be stopped immediately.  Mr. Trump’s autocratic propensity must be stopped and Project 2025 eradicated.

In congress, the debate structure should not be one that uses trickery or lies simply to win one’s argument.  It is to get the other side to see the true value of the argument.  You wish to convince them that it is as good as you believe it to be.  

It is also an education exposing information that the other side may not have known but should.  It is an opportunity for both sides to work out an equitable solution that serves the majority of the citizens.  There you have it in the last line.  

Keep your focus on two things, that which is best for the citizens and ways to ensure and preserve it.  Keep democracy alive at all cost.  May God bless us in this endeavor.

Roger Joss is a life-long Clinton resident and also author of The Culinary Corner.