I will begin the literary page with some great words from Basic Call to Consciousness, a significant read edited by Akwesasne Notes. The entire book is a must read. It was originally published in 1978.  Every time I read it, I learn something more significant from it. Following are some powerful words from this book I'd like to share with you:

"The air is foul, the waters poisoned, the trees dying, the animals are disappearing. We think even the systems of weather are changing. Our ancient teaching warned us that if man interfered with the natural laws, these things would come to be. When the last of the Natural Way of Life is gone, all hope for human survival will be gone with it. And our Way of Life is fast disappearing, a victim of the destructive processes."

And further,

"The majority of the world does not find its roots in Western culture of traditions. The majority of the world finds its roots in the Natural World, and it is the Natural World and the traditions of the Natural World that must prevail if we are to develop truly free and egalitarian societies."

This honourable work provides the Haudenosaunee history as it is and a rare insight into the foundation of The Great Law. The world knows of many great prophets but special respect must be paid to a great soul, The Peacemaker, who was not only the only one of his kind in his times but also a great political philosopher in human history as referred to in this book.

"In a way, The Peacemaker was centuries ahead of his time. He set forth a system of government ogranization that was a mervelously complex enactment of the concept of participatory (as opposed to representative) democracy."

What most of you may not know that the model of United Nations was copied from the Peacemaker's model of government. I'll share the following excerpt from the book:

"The vision of the Peacemaker that all the peoples of the world would live in peace under the protection of a law that required that hostilities be outlawed and disputed offered a settlement process is yet today an exciting prospect. When the idea of a United Nations for the world was proposed toward the end of World War II, researchers were dispathced to find models in history for such an organization. For all practical purposes, the only model they found concerned the Constitution of the Five Nations, whose author had envisioned exactly that."


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VAGUE LAWS

While researching, I came across the following article and found it worth sharing:

"Combine vagueness with the ever expanding number of statutes and regulations affecting businesses and entrepreneurs on a daily basis and the result is a government bureaucracy with almost unlimited power to intimidate and blackmail citizens with the threat of prosecution — or to punish practically any conduct they choose to declare "illegal." Two centuries ago James Madison warned that it would be "of little avail to the people, that the laws are made by men of their own choice, if the laws be so voluminous that they cannot be read, or so incoherent that they cannot be understood." But every year Congress and federal regulators create new restrictions, often written in impenetrable jargon or broad mandates that cannot be understood until after charges are filed."

Click here to read the full article