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Nazareth, Pa., United States

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Allentown's Motto: Sic Semper Tyrannis

The Liberty Bell Center for Constitutional Studies is a Lehigh Valley group of strict constructionists. Chairman Ryan Burgett submitted a letter to The Morning Call for publication, but the suits rejected it. I like it, and am proud to publish it here.

"'Sic Semper Tyrannis.' This phrase is nothing short of creepy. It was the phrase shouted by John Wilkes Booth as he shot Abraham Lincoln, and the phrase proudly written across Timothy McVeigh’s shirt when he was arrested. Many wrongly translate this phrase to mean “Death to Tyrants” but those who know history know that it actually means “Thus Always to Tyrants.” It is unfortunate that this phrase has been hijacked by crazy people throughout history when it is a perfectly legitimate phrase to be used by people. It is the state motto of Virginia and truth be told the motto of the city of Allentown. We have a government that has for years now stripped away at our privacy rights and wants more and more power to make decisions for us. That is tyranny. At the heart of tyranny is greed, greed by officials who want power and control and think they know better than the individual. But we know from history that greed always leads to destruction. It is time to resurrect this phrase and remind our officials from the local to the federal levels, that their greed will lead to destruction, Thus Always to Tyrants."

The phrase, of course, is originally attributed to Brutus, the last of a cabal of Roman Senators to plunge a knife into Julius Caesar.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow, why didn't the Call publish the letter. Maybe because the Liberty Bell Congress of Whacko's wasn't their cup of tea.
I love how these groups give themselves a fancy name then figure their crazy pointless point of view will have more of an impact.

Stay Classy you defenders of Liberty.

Anonymous said...

That letter sounds like a threat. Is the writer implying he will stab to death our elected officials? Shoot them in the back of the head and jump onto a stage? Blow up the federal building on Hamilton Street?
I'm glad the letter found a forum.

Anonymous said...

To learn more about LBCCS, visit:

http://libertybellccs.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

Anon 2:28, can you identify the specific ideas in the letter that represents a "crazy pointless point of view". If you can't, then you're the "whacko"

Bernie O'Hare said...

It will be my pleasure to link to the referenced blog sometime later today.

Bernie O'Hare said...

"That letter sounds like a threat"

A government should be afraid of its people and not the other way around.

Anonymous said...

Yeah lets all threaten each other through goofy clubs. Grow up people and move out of your parents basement.

Anonymous said...

This is an observation, a-political but funny and should be something people remember, is that all those terrorists or presidential assassins did not read up to learn that after killing Ceasar things went very poorly for Brutus.

Badass sounding in theory but everyone who uses it fails to gain control of Rome, failed to pull off a decapitation strike on the Union, and Timothy McVeigh wearing it on a t-shirt once again means it should be mentioned that Oklahoma City bombing was a horrible event but failed to inspire his intended revolt while resulting in the FBI hiring more agents due to militia movements being responsible for most domestic terrorism so he failed even harder.