A Passover plea: Don't tread on E Pluribus Unum.

[elleng]

In 1775, Marine troops preparing to intercept British warships carried yellow drums painted with what would become an iconic image of the American Revolutionary period: a rattlesnake, coiled and ready to strike; underneath, the motto "Don't tread on me." Capturing the anti-government political sentiment of the moment, this image was soon immortalized on what became known as the Gadsden flag.

A year later, as America declared independence from Britain, a second image took its place in our national history. The Great Seal, bearing the motto "E pluribus unum" (out of many, one) -- bore witness to a second political vision for this nascent country, that of collective identity and mutual obligation.

America, the great political experiment, has attempted since her birth to balance these two founding ideals of individualism and collectivism. Today, the rhetoric of the tea party movement tugs us dangerously out of balance, reimagining this country's creation as rooted solely in the values of individual rights and freedoms.

http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/guestvoices/2010/03/a_passover_plea_dont_tread_on_e_pluribus_unum.html?hpid=talkbox1

[msongs]

1. we need charlton heston to part the mississippi n lead us to....hmmm where? nt

[marybourg]

2. Only THEIR individual rights and freedoms. They have no

intention of extending such right and freedoms to those who differ from them in some way.