You do not make tea by throwing it into the harbour

I’ve been sitting in front of the screen struggling with some thoughts I wanted to set out in writing. I’m clear enough in the meaning of what these are but the mechanical channel from mind to monitor just escapes me. I’ll get round to it another day – or not. No pressure; plenty of room in my head for the thoughts anyway.

What the childbirth-like process did do was focus my mind to the great writings I knew of. The American Declaration of Independence had always impressed me. The opening phrases set the scene for some matter of great importance. Just that opening “We hold these truths to be self-evident” makes one realises that this is going to be something one needs to give attention. Just a small extract:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

I went off and tracked down the whole thing. I then came across a section – preamble? – I had never known of. That is here:

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

I do not know the author of this but I find it even more impressive than “We hold these truths…”. It is one long sentence but loses nothing because of that. The style is very British – but then it would be given the massive influence of Britain on all aspects of American life. Whilst not a student of American writing, I suspect that if the same Declaration were being written today, the language and style would be quite different. More direct – even terse. I find the difference in our use of what is still, basically, the same language most marked when it comes to matters patriotic. Statements that originate in America seem almost to be written for declamation on the silver screen against the backdrop of that fort at the Alamo. There is a fierce pride that would be a source of great amusement is it came through stiff British lips. Certainly more likely reference to God and glory.

What I ended up doing today in this wandering gave me great enjoyment. Made up for my own lack of ability in meaningful writing. As teacher sometimes said, “Must try harder”