In my head, I read all of that in the voice of Louis Tully from Ghostbusters.
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They ended up that way, but when they were introduced most people weren’t allowed to vote. It was effectively a tax on heads, poll being the Middle English word for head or scalp.
They still have a long history of rebellion.
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Okay. Thank you.
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Songwriters: Simon Nicol / Ralph Mctell / RALPH MCTEL
(Fairport Convention)
And on the field at Blackheath
Us commons covered the earth
More men than ever I did see
Poor honest men from birth
The men were up from Kent, and out of Essex too
Though naught but the Thames divides us and unites us onwards
Through all the villages of England and on to London town
Where we poor men would meet our king and lay our grievance down
Wat Tyler led us men from Kent, rough hands were shaken there
King Richard and the commons our bold resolve and prayer
We knew our king would hear us, our loyalty was clear
T’was the bloody lawyers’ poll tax that had brought us labourers here
And yet he wouldn’t see us, so to London we did roar
And the poor there and the Essex men burst down the prison door
What happened at the Tower was justice, rough in part
The murders of the Flemish boys sat uneasy in my heart
“And now the king must see us” said Tyler to his men
And the very next day young Richard came and met us at Mile End
And on the field at Blackheath
Us commons covered the earth
More men than ever I did see
Poor honest men from birth
Kent and Essex, Bedford, Sussex received King Richard’s word
No harm nor blame would come to them if home they would return
And Lincoln, Cambridge, Stafford too received our young king’s favour
And thirty thousand left us there, believing it was over
But Tyler, he was not convinced and told us to remain
“I want to hear his words again, for nothing much has changed”
So Tyler, he approached the king and took Richard by the arm
And his rough but friendly gesture caused Richard’s knights alarm
"Ah my lord " said Tyler, “companions we shall be”
“I shall trust in you my lord, if you will trust in me”
And so he called for water, and then he called for ale
And his manner shocked young Richard’s
knights and I watched the Lord Mayor pale
“I know this man” a voice accused, “Wat Tyler is a thief”
The Lord Mayor feared he’d harm the king, that was his true belief
And there at Smithfield drew his sword, and cut our captain down
And the heart went out of all of us with his blood upon the ground
And on the field at Blackheath
Us commons covered the earth
More men than ever I did see
Poor honest men from birth
Young Richard, he was merciful and he pardoned one and all
But home to Kent like beaten dogs, still serfs we had to crawl
But how precious was our liberty and the hope that filled us all
That left poor Tyler’s severed head upon a bloody pole
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Plus an extra ‘like’ for Fairport Convention!
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I can’t help but comment on “Healthcare is a right.” It’s a semantic argument, so try not to get too worked up. Let me start by saying I’m for universal healthcare, but have a problem with calling it a right. It comes down to origin of power and rights.
In many countries, power begins with the state, which grants rights to its people. In those countries, it can make sense for people to demand the right to healthcare from their government.
But the USA flips the source of power. Power and rights start with the people, which then grants authority to our government. We don’t get any rights of our rights from the government, we give them.
Because of this, we can’t demand a right we didn’t already have. Some might say we, as a society, have a responsibility to provide healthcare. A social contract. Which is a good argument. But it doesn’t so much support healthcare as a right as argue that we have the responsibility to exercise our right to modify our government to provide healthcare.
So it doesn’t fit on a bumper sticker, but we should really be saying “We have a right to create the healthcare system of our choosing.”
Why does it matter? Maybe it’s just semantics, since the result is the same. But I feel we should never forget that our rights originate with us and not something that is given to us by our government. Healthcare can’t be a right. But healthcare can be a product of our rights.
IANAL, but could see health care falling under “secure the general welfare…” from the preamble. Aside from that, the founders royally screwed up by not including a general “Be not akin the the hole of an ass” clause.
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Tracing the throughline back further, the “unalienable rights” of “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” mentioned in the Declaration are a little difficult to achieve if you’re ill and can’t afford even basic medical care.
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Are elected government representatives, such as the President and Congress, servants of the people? The Constitution uses the word “serve” several times in reference to them.
Do they get healthcare provided for them by the government? Yes, yes they do.
You could make a constitutional argument that anything that is provided to congresspeople must also be provided to the citizenry.
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I’ll meet you on the ledge.
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I agree. When you ask the average person in the US how much do you make? they tend to tell you their weekly take home salary if not none of your business. People who are paid monthly who are the people I consider salaried will tell you their monthly check amount or none of your business.
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Does anyone even call them Secretaries anymore? I’ve only heard “Administrative Assistant.” It’s like using Stewardess instead of Flight Attendant.
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Secretary is a more official position in law firms and is considered a skilled specialization as opposed to paralegals who are basically office peons.
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Ah, okay. I had no idea it was still in use.
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