Friday, November 5, 2010

Remember, remember the fifth of November

Originally, the date referred to Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot in 1605. The original plot was to assassinate King James I and establish a Roman Catholic monarchy in England. The day was celebrated in subsequent years as a service of thanksgiving that the king survived. However, that event launched oppressions against Roman Catholics in that country that did not completely end until 1850.

I'm not in favor of blowing things up, but it is good to remember the Fifth of November. In recent years it has come to be a day of remembrance in the struggle for freedom, following the V television series and the movie V for Vendetta, in which "V" launches a terrorist plot against a fascist government. This speech from the 1983 television series in YouTube is a stirring call to freedom against oppression, and is one of the finest speeches I have ever heard.

It reminds us that there are times when all of us will need to pay a price for liberty, not just our military.

Virtual buckeye to Gabe McGranahan

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