Sayhad

My good friend Rex has me thinking a bit about the Yemeni Republic.
I've thought a back story might be both interesting and useful. However, some may, at first, think I have gone way to far back. However, your teachers thought it was important that you know your connections to Europe, Rome, Greece, Persia, Egypt and the Sea People. Others thought it important that you understand your connections to the Christian Church, Jesus, Moses, Abraham, Noah, and his fathers.

Yemen has formed a republic as we have. It think that it is the only republic on the Arabian Peninsula. The available history of our dealings with Yemen are scant and, in part, depressingly bad. In spite of our not entirely honorable dealings with us, the choose to follow us and France to republicanism. That is they seem to find our philosophy more worthy than our actions.

Yemen has shown as little tendency to theocracy as have we.

To be continued.

Can You Name the Country

Using these few historical hints?

It was aiming to become a republic about the same time 'we' were. It had an airline before we did.

Like all countries it was created and supported by men and families. Here are some few family names important to the existence of this country: Santander, Bolivar, Mejia, Restrepo, Corral, Narino, Caldas.
Learning, honor, generosity, kindness, family, liberty, courage, public service each has been known to be important among them.
Religion too has been important.
Doctors and poets have been respected. Men of letters and learning in general have been well respected.

Picking a name more or less at random we may find some details helpful to your guess. Let Restrepo be that name. It has long been respected in Antioquia and Santa Fe. it is known now and It was known in the United Provinces of New Granada. It was known to Simon Bolivar and to Juan del Corral. If you know orchids, you may know the genus of Restrepia. There have long been Restrepos in the city of Envigado.

Well, what do you think?

A Republic

Where did our republic come from?
Just what is a republic?
Who represents you in this republic?
Who is representing you right now?
Why is that?

More Let's

Let's see how more democracy and fewer elections can improve our republic.

Some Attributes of Democracy

In a democracy:
~ The rights of minorities and the equity in distribution of power takes ongoing maintenance.
~ Balance and harmony call for ongoing attention.
~ Members control the organization.
~ Members continue to claim free and equal participation in the decision making process.
~ Each member is a free and equal governor of his country or other organization
~ The freedom, equality, and openness of participation of the overwhelming majority of its members is defining.
~ Authority is active in its public.
~ Ruler and non-ruler are equal.
~ The more direct the rule by the people the greater its purity.

Might be better that we decided on a republic.

Republicans are Responsible.

We are still a republic.

A republican is as responsible for foreign policy as for domestic policy.

Govern

We are in this boat together.
We are not rudderless.
We can steer our boat.

What is sovereign authority?
Who says you have to pay taxes?
What can you do about it?

Authority is exercised by an author.
An author is a creator and originator.

Who is creating our republic?

Who steers the ship of state?
Who plots the course?
Who selects the ports of call?
Who chooses the cargo?
Who selects and chooses passengers and crew?

Do you have a seat?
Where do you stand?
What is a body politic?
What are you doing with your body?

You are part of more than one community.
A citizen is a person in community.

Politics is the art of civil administration.
The people are the polis and politics is their responsibility.

Pension Funds

The people of the great republic of Argentina now control their pension fund. The Pension fund was nationalized last month. What other republics now control their pension funds?

Unwilling

We are so unwilling to pay that we enslave our children and our republic to bond holders.

We are so unwilling to govern that we have no foreign policy, no domestic policy, no economic policy, no military policy, no education policy.

Not Obama

In our republic pretending to democracy, it is not up to Obama, me, or you to fix things. As a government of the people, by the people, and for the people, it is up to us.

Terrorists

If you are an America, as I am.
If you believe that we still have a republic, as I do.
If you believe that we have had pretensions to democracy, as I do.
Then, can you think of any way we can reasonably claim that we are not terrorists?

Sound as a Dollar

We let them know that we didn't care what the did with our money so long as they didn't take a too much bigger percent of it.

So they did what they thought was best for them in the short run. There was no long run.
Now the whisper around the world of "dump the dollar" is growing so loud they are becoming as scared as we should have been.

I wish enough of us had taken pleasure in our responsibilities and duties as citizens of a republic with pretensions toward democracy.

Can you hear it passing?