About Ercille I. Christmas Ercille I. Christmas was born in the tiny Caribbean island
of St. Kitts, the "Gibraltar of the Caribbean." She is thrilled to be an
American citizen, living in "the land of the free and the home of the
brave." Formerly a supervisor in the insurance industry, her life changed on
September 11, 2001, and she has devoted every minute since then, to speaking
and writing about the threat that Islamic terrorism and internal
anti-American behavior pose to our country. Her book, "Thoughts
of a Proud American," can be bought on Amazon.com, and she also blogs at
www.Ercillesworld.com
and
www.Ercillesuniverse.com.
Life, Liberty & the Pursuit of Death June 23, 2009
Yes, I know that the saying is "life, liberty and the pursuit of
happiness," from the United States Declaration of Independence. As the
title suggests, this post is not about independence in the US. It is
about the kind of life, relative lack of liberty, and the 'pursuit" of
death on the streets of Tehran, that I am seeing playing out on the
television.
I saw a woman die on the streets of Tehran. She "pursued" death and it
caught her. Why am I describing the killing of this woman as her
"pursuit" of death? This is my roundabout way of paying tribute to those
Iranians who flooded the streets of their capital city in defiance of
the Grand Leader of Iran. I will not spend time trying to get his
grandiose title correctly. This woman and the thirty or forty who were
murdered by representatives of their government, knew full well that
they were not going to be treated to snacks. Quite the reverse. They
were smacked around, bloodied, and the "lucky" ones died. "Lucky"
because if the Grand Leaders do not back down, those Iranians who remain
in the land of the living, may come to wish that they were killed.
"Liberty" could be the least of their worries.
As I saw the carnage on the streets, I began thinking what if that
happened in the US, the land of "life, liberty and the pursuit of
happiness?" How would we as a nation react to suddenly waking up one
morning and instead of a president, governed by the US Constitution, we
have a Grand Leader, who gives orders to break up any protests by "any
means necessary?" Would the authorities perform their "mandate" to stop
the marching on the streets, with such vigor? What would be the body
count? Would I be as brave as that woman, to go marching on the streets,
knowing full well that I may not return to bake that chicken that I have
marinating in the refrigerator?
I don't want to find out. I pray to God that He, undeserving though we
are, do not let us find out. I pray that He preserves this democratic
republic of the United States of America, that we do not forget how this
country was founded through His grace, on the principles of "life,
liberty and the pursuit of happiness." I never want to see the blood of
my fellow citizens flowing down the streets, while other citizens are
too cowed to even realize that their unique country has been destroyed.
I have learned three lessons from the situation in Iran, or more
specifically, had those lessons reinforced. The most tangible lesson is
the power of the World Wide Web. Despotic governments are going to try
their best to close off communication, but isn't It ironic that Internet
sites that were intended for "social" networking are becoming unwitting
participants in social upheaval? Those Grand Leaders in Iran, are
finding out that those intrepid "social" networkers are always a step
ahead of the attempts of the Grand Leaders, to clamp down on
communication. Like little birds tweeting in the forest, the Internet
Tweeters are tweeting out what was supposed to be kept hidden.
The second lesson that came forcefully home to me is that God did indeed
create us with an innate desire for liberty as one of our "unalienable
rights." This thirst for liberty is not governed by geography, color of
skin, type of creed, or even cultural indoctrination. We all just want
to be free! Totalitarian governments, and even non-totalitarian
governments, should take a lesson from this Iranian struggle. Even if it
is thirty years later, the hunger for freedom will burst out of the
lockbox. The Grand Leaders with all of the forces that they control, may
very well win, but as Shakespeare warned: "Uneasy lies the head that
wears the crown." Oh, another quotation from Shakespeare, that they may
want to check out: "Cowards die many times before their deaths; the
valiant never taste of death but once."
This last lesson I will keep close to my heart. As I looked at those
citizens of Iran, being bludgeoned by their "law" enforcement personnel,
I vowed that we in the US have to ensure the preservation of our nation.
I can only thank God that I live in the United States, still "land of
the free, and home of the brave," where I can still enjoy my
"unalienable right" to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." May
I never have to find out what went through the thoughts of that lady as
she was slaughtered on the streets of Tehran.
