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What - was/is/will be - the meaning of "JOIN, or DIE." OR Rattle-Snake part 2

Started by Publican, July 15, 2012, 11:22:52 AM

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Publican

JOIN, or DIE. What it meant THEN, What it MEANS TO ME. What does it MEAN TO YOU?

THEN

In the thread entitled "Why the Rattle-Snake ( http://appleseedinfo.org/smf/index.php?topic=30479.0 ), I did not delve too deeply into the REASON for the political cartoon by Ben Franklin. I feel it is necessary now because that sentiment was the main reason for the cartoon Ben Franklin penned on May 9, 1754 in the Pennsylvania Gazette.

The cartoon appeared along with Franklin's editorial about the "disunited state" of the colonies, and helped make his point about the importance of colonial unity.

Seven Years' War

At that time, the colonists were divided on whether to fight the French and their Indian allies for control of the land west of the Appalachian Mountains, in what came to be known as the French and Indian War. It became a symbol for the need of organized action against an outside threat posed by the French and Indians in the mid 18th century.

Writer Philip Davidson states that Franklin was a propagandist influential in seeing the potential in political cartoons.[4] Franklin had proposed the Albany Plan and his cartoon suggested that such a union was necessary to avoid destruction.

As Franklin wrote,
[quote]"The Confidence of the French in this Undertaking seems well-grounded on the present disunited State of the British Colonies, and the extreme Difficulty of bringing so many different Governments and Assemblies to agree in any speedy and effectual Measures for our common defense and Security; while our Enemies have the very great Advantage of being under one Direction, with one Council, and one Purse...." [/quote]


The Albany Plan of Union

The Albany Plan of Union was proposed by Benjamin Franklin at the Albany Congress in 1754 in Albany, New York. It was an early attempt at forming a union of the colonies "under one government as far as might be necessary for defense and other general important purposes"[1] during the French and Indian War. Franklin's plan of union was one of several put forth by various delegates of the Albany Congress.

A committee, formed to consider the different plans, settled on Franklin's plan--making only small modifications.....Many objections and difficulties were debated, addressed, and resolved whereupon the plan was unanimously adopted by the delegates of the Albany Congress. Copies were then sent to the Colonial Assemblies and the British Board of Trade in London.[2] The Plan was promptly rejected by both sides.

Instead, they (The British in England) preferred that the colonists' focus remain on the forthcoming military campaign. The Board of Trade never sought official approval for the Plan from the Crown. Instead, they proposed that colonial governors, along with some members of their respective councils, order the raising of troops and building of forts, using money from Treasury of Great Britain which would later be repaid by an Act of Parliament laying a tax on America.[4]

In the aftermath of the Revolutionary War, the Albany Plan of Union served as an inspirational primer for the writing of the Articles of Confederation

This is a very brief description of the Plan as well as a few details related to it. For a more detailed look, follow the links and continue researching on your own.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Join,_or_Die
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albany_Plan


So, when Ben penned his famous political cartoon - what did it mean?

DIE:
The death of an idea from an external threat.
The death of a Nation from an external threat.
The death of Liberty from an external threat.
The physical death of you and yours from an external threat.

AND:
The DEATH of all of the above BECAUSE of the INTERNAL THREAT of disunity, apathy and an unwillingness to fight and sacrifice for what is right!

Join or Die - Unify, become involved - OR be one of those responsible for THE DEATH because through inaction you have become that internal threat....


++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

What IT MEANS TO ME:

DIE:
The death of what our Founders fought and died for.
The death of our Nation as it was in-visioned and intended to be.
The death of our personal freedoms, our rights, our liberty.



Join or Die as it applies to me:

I need to become involved in a way which will have meaning, make a difference, persuade.....

In the past (among other things) I have been an internet warrior who has pointed to problems an said: LOOK! I see a problem. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

I have never been one to: 1) Identify a problem, 2) Identify a solution, and 3) ACTIVELY work toward solving said problem.

This third step is where I hope I am now.
-I see a problem....the ship (our Country) is sinking.
-The obvious solution is to start bailing out the water. But to do this alone, I would fail. The water would come in much too fast for me to stay even, let alone reverse the tide of destruction already sinking the ship.
-So I need to not only bail but also grab as many other people as I can, stick a bucket in their hands and have them join me. Then I need to implore them to do the same......find more people to join us and bail.

 
If we ever meet in person and you say: What does "that line" (JOIN. or DIE.) mean - I will answer with the following so I do not bend your ear too long like I have just done: I need to actively fight the external threat, so as not to become the internal threat!

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU?

I need to leave this part blank. Only you can answer that.

"I regard giving as necessary to right the balance..." Hu Chung

"Things now every day begin to grow more and more serious" Lord Percy

"Please remember the 2nd Amendment each and every time you vote".....Cork

"I need to actively fight the external threat, so as not to become the internal threat!".....Publican

PHenry

I hope it;s OK for a Fla boy to chime in.  :-\

I join, of my own volition, in a common cause with other volunteers to serve a just cause.

So long as the joining is a conscious, voluntary act, and  the goal is to support a un-a-lien-able Natural Law, then only good can come if it. If the joining is forced upon me, by either threat of physical violence, or even the psychological force of culture, then the outcome will invariably be evil.

I am self-governed. I choose to serve Appleseeds, so long as Appleseeds seeks to support Natural Law.
Para ser Libre, un Hombre debe tener tres cosas. La Tierra, una Educacion, y un Fusil. Siempre, un Fusil!  Emiliano Zapata

Publican

"I regard giving as necessary to right the balance..." Hu Chung

"Things now every day begin to grow more and more serious" Lord Percy

"Please remember the 2nd Amendment each and every time you vote".....Cork

"I need to actively fight the external threat, so as not to become the internal threat!".....Publican

TaosGlock

Back then Join or Die, Live Free or Die, and Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death were not slogans bandied about like the bumper stickers of todays so called 'dufous americana patriotus'. It was a code they lived by which helped define the "American Revolution".

I can just hear one of the Minutemen in a Concord tavern saying to one of the Lobsterbacks, "Sir, you may try and take my liberties but one of us is going to die in the process".  He meant it too, and had the commitment, heart, soul, courage and skills to back it up. Something we lack today.

Here is a sort of an Appleseedish quote:
"Its not what you gather in life, but what you scatter in life. That tells the kind of person you are and the life you have lived."-Helen Walton

Join or Die means committing to something bigger than myself, even when the deck seems stacked against me.
Something that adds value to my life and the Nation. Appleseed is hope and why I do what I do.


89 fantastic Appleseeds since 2008/24 Libertyseeds!
Adventure Camp Director/Current Lead Rifle Instructor: NRA WC Raton,NM
New Mexico's first Rifleman: Sept. 2008 NRAWC
Their walls are filled with cannonballs, their motto is don't tread on me-Grateful Dead
Liberty is not a cruise ship full of pampered passengers. It is a man of war and we are all crew-Boston T. Party
"Make no mistake, when you cheer for the people of the American Revolution, you are cheering for traitors and criminals.
They broke the law, because liberty is always illegal"- Larken Rose