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THESE are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated. — Thomas Payne, The American Crisis

Rest in peace, GOP. You had a good run, but in the end, loyalty to a broken system weighed down the time-tested principles of the party that Lincoln built. Now you are grand only in name.

I remain hopeful that the enthusiasm of the Ron Paul Revolutionaries sustains their efforts to transform the Republican party, from the ground up, back to the party of non-interventionism and small government (even while my own energy to stay involved has waned). I do believe there is a place for (small l) libertarian ideals in American political debate and that place is not out along the fringe. And though I am a lifelong progressive, I will continue to play whatever small part I might in nudging the GOP away from neo-conservatism, which I see as a highly dangerous ideology.

It is looking more and more likely that I will have no better option than to vote for Barack Obama (EDIT: or Hillary since she did not bomb in last night's primaries) in the 2008 election. The Democrats are no less the party of American Empire than the Republicans and I am troubled that the only two viable options in our electoral system are both agents of big government and imperialism. I have long supported the Democratic party despite their being a ship of fools, more concerned with the fringe than with the core, despite rampant political correctness, despite turning their backs on the anti-federalist principles upon which they were founded. I won't feel at home among their ranks, but I will very likely be supporting their candidate against the war-mongering John McCain.

Cynicism and idealism are battling within me, and I fear it's only a matter of time before cynicism once again wins the day.

Yes, I'm being dramatic. Maybe I'm overreacting a bit. But damn it, am I bummed.

I woke up this morning wanting to do something special, something patriotic. Until I come up with something better, I'm blogging. Yes, that might itself be a sad commentary, but there you go.

Amidst all the fireworks, barbecues, and (at times mechanical) flag-waving, I like to put the significance of today into perspective. How do I do that? I read the Declaration of Independence.

We have seen these words a million times before, but I read them closely trying to avoid the clichéd meanings that soundbite culture has ascribed to them. It helps to put the document into context; I think about the courage and vision of those who wrote these words. I think about the thousands who embraced the upstart revolution and forsook the old order to take up arms against old allies. I think about the millions who have sacrificed their lives and livelihood throughout the history of our nation, despite any feelings about the justifications and conditions of the wars and conflicts we have fought. I think about the American Revolution which continues to this very day as we struggle against our own weaknesses and challenges from abroad to keep the dream alive. This paragraph, perhaps more than any, encapsulates that dream:

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.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.–Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States.

It's a powerful document and though it is not legally binding, it is the very spirit of our nation, this grand social experiment. It is also a beautiful piece of prose and a landmark exposition of the principles of classical liberalism. It's as close to a Bible as I have, and I revere it.

Happy Independence Day, folks. (And enjoy the fireworks, barbecues, and flag-waving.)

P.S. Cat macro representations of feeds should not be this funny. My favorites: Yawn, Want to work at Princeton?, and RESTful Fedora?

I decided a while back that I would use this space exclusively for library- and technology-related bits, that I should not clutter it with more personal or political matters. That decision has probably saved me a lot of embarrassment. But it's also kept me from updating more often than I would like, and forced filters upon me that give a one-dimensional view of what I'm about. Underlying the decision was a certain trepidation and strange sense of professional propriety — what would colleagues and potential employers think of me if I just spilled my guts out here?

I'm starting to question that decision. Other well-known biblio-bloggers do it — I'm looking at Dorothea and Karen — though I'm in the league below the bush league compared to them. But sometimes, dammit, I just want to be me.

I'd like to add to the left-leaning echo chamber by reminding folks that Jerry Falwell was a lunatic. People come out of the woodwork to spout ebullient praise about the recently deceased, whether they were actually good people or not, and the posthumous Falwell spin has begun with numerous smiley glad-hands lauding his life and deeds. But let's not forget what kind of guy ol' Jerry was.

I really believe that the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People For the American Way, all of them who have tried to secularize America. I point the finger in their face and say 'you helped [the terrorist attacks on 9/11] happen'.

I'm not so crass as to celebrate the death of someone who has arguably done some good during his long lifetime, but I couldn't help but think "good riddance to bad rubbish" when I heard of his passing.

I am sure there will be dozens of doomsayers scrambling to take his place in the Pantheon of Evangelical Kooks. I can see it now: And lo, I woke up this morning and my toilet was running. SURELY THIS IS A SIGN OF THE SECOND COMING.