That is a very thought-provoking quote. And one that I think every elected offical should think deeply about.

But I am afraid not. In one of his only original thoughts, (former) Chicago Tribune columnist Bob Greene posited the "Student Council Theory of Government": your government basically consists of the same people who ran for Student Council in 8th grade, and their personality combines (a) an insufferable belief that they know better than you how things should be organized (b) a great desire to seek approval from authority figures.

If you think about it, this is exactly what we see in Washington today. All the "secrets", all the flurry of "security" activity, all the nonsense carried out in the name of the "war against terrorism": primarily plain old citizens with an unquenchable desire to tell other citizens how they should behave. Do you think that such folk would willinging admit that they are not better than you and me?

Cranky

"We, who are as good as you, swear to you, who are no better than us, to accept you as our king and sovereign lord, provided you observe all our liberties and laws--but if not, not."

I've got a better oath: "We, The People, swear to accept you as our President/principal public servant, as long as you observe the limits of federal government power contained in the Constitution."

Since G.W. Bush violated his part of THAT oath of allegiance in his first days in office--just like all presidents of the 20th century--I'd be clear of my oath of allegiance. Which is just as well. I don't cotton to swearing allegiance to any mortal. (Or immortal, for that matter.)

This is the America I like and I'm ready to stand for. Here is a little present from a foreigner:

I don't even recall Australia having any such oath. And our constitution is a throwback to the days of monarchist forelock-tugging with a lot of time and effort spent on how to establish a Queen's representative in the new country.

But we did have a Prime Minister in the 1980s who proclaimed (when we finally won the America's Cup in sailing and drunken celebrations were in full swing) -- "Any boss who sacks anyone tomorrow is a BUM!"

He won several elections, did Bob Hawke.

:-)

Did you know that beauty is the symbol of the U.S. Libertarian Party?

http://www.lp.org

Truly the best birthday present any country ever had!

This was given in return. But don't thank just us for that. Definitely thank the British and Canadians:

Maybe the libertarians should adopt some piece of art created by private initiative as their symbol... having a big government built and funded statue just doesn't cut it for me.

>>Did you know that beauty is the symbol of the U.S. Libertarian Party?<<

No, and it doesn't bother me. What bothers me is when national symbols are used to deceive people.

>>This was given in return. But don't thank just us for that. Definitely thank the British and Canadians.<<

Asked this way, it's my pleasure to thank the US, the UK and Canada. I also thank all the courrageous European freedom fighters who resisted, took risks for their lifes and their family, and often died to fight off the Nazis.

Julian, perhaps you should learn the history of the Statue of Liberty before you shoot your mouth off? The Statue was both built and restored with privately raised funds, not public funds.

If I'm not mistaken, the Statue of Liberty was funded entirely by small contributions from average citizens of both America and France, and the restoration was also largely if not completely privately funded. I've always seen it as a perfect example of what can be accomplished by private initiative, and as such it makes a great symbol for the LP.

For the curious:

http://www.nps.gov/stli/prod02.htm

on the history of the S. of L.

Financed privately, maintained publicly. Make of that what you will.

Interesting sentiments, indeed. :-)

Jean-Philippe Stijns writes, "No, and it doesn't bother me. What bothers me is when national symbols are used to deceive people."

There is absolutely no deception in the Libertarian Party's use of the Statue of Liberty as the party symbol. In fact, I can't imagine there being any more appropriate symbol for the Libertarian Party.

We are THE party of liberty in the U.S. No one else even comes close.

"Financed privately, maintained publicly. Make of that what you will."

I think the other posters were referring to the major restoration that occurred in the 1980's. But I see that it was a public-private partnership...not fully private.

The Catalan Oath of Allegiance

Do you have a citation for this?

The Catalan Oath of Allegiance

Patrick O'Brien?

"If it wasn't true it should have been, and more and better besides."

It's cited by Robert Hughes in his ``Barcelona'' (Vintage Books, 1993; 0679743839), probably on page 105 or thereabouts, where the chapter ``If Not, Not'' begins.