Posted by
Harry E. Hallett on Tuesday, June 10, 2008 12:00:00 AM
There are times when, given the
relentless perniciousness of the leftists in our midst and their
unabashed contempt for real freedom and liberty, I despair for the
future of liberty in the world. I read the scrawlings of scribes, see
the posturing of potentates and hear the odium of orators who’ve naught
better to say about liberty than there’s just too damned much of it and
it should be taxed, regulated or legislated out of existence.
This
past weekend I was reminded that all is far from lost in this great
nation. That liberty and the freedom to enjoy it are, while fervently
sought by those in parts of the world that are far from free, still
exercised here by people with a joy for life.
The Ink and Iron
Festival is a celebration that merges what some would call Body Art
(Tattooing, Piercing, etc) with displays of colorful custom and great
classic cars and motorcycles along with musical performances and
fantastic food was held at the Queen Mary in Long Beach, California.
The variety of people that were there to enjoy the sights, sounds, smells, tastes and general camaraderie often found when people gather to share an experience was a pleasant escape from daily life.I
saw booths and tables where people displayed their skills and plied
their trades. I saw a carnival for people to experience thrills and
joy. I heard musicians exhibit their talents (or the lack thereof) to
the applause or disdain of the assemblage.
I saw people of all
types show off the cars, bikes and/or bodies that they had put so much
time and expense into. There were Bikers and Punks, Goths and
"Gangstas", Cowboys and Metalheads and much variety in between.
I
saw sellers hawking leather goods, vehicle parts, videos, bikinis,
retro memorabilia, automotive tools, vacations, tattoo/body piercing
paraphernalia, jewelry, food and clothing. I saw booths full of
merchandise extolling uniqueness and beauty. I saw rebellion and
individuality packaged and marketed for mass consumption and I gloried
in the irony of it.
And it all reminded me that, as President Franklin Roosevelt said in his 1st inaugural address, "this great nation will endure as it has endured".
While the fight goes on to preserve and advance liberty here
and elsewhere, we as a nation still have very far to fall before
finding ourselves in the pits of fascism and living in the statist
utopia (there’s a contradiction in terms for you) that is so ardently
striven for by those most rabidly on the left.