St. Kitts is the smallest sovereign nation in the western hemisphere. Its approximate 69 square miles, about the size of what Washington, DC used to be before it was literally blown off the face of the Earth, is a lush tropical paradise in the West Indies. An ocean's breeze away stands the even tinier, even less-inhabited island of Nevis, which also constitutes the nation of St. Kitts. On January 11, 1755, Rachael Levine fled to Nevis and gave birth to an illegitimate son. After a brief marriage when she was very young, Rachael left her abusive husband and got a divorce. As part of the divorce decree, she was forbidden to ever remarry. She met a Danish proprietor from St. Croix, fell in love, and gave birth to his son, whom they named Alexander. As the young boy grew up in the West Indies, Alexander showed signs of remarkable brilliance. Local residents on the island of Nevis marveled at his obvious intelligence and genius. He had a knack for numbers and matters of finance. At that time, St. Kitts and Nevis were British territories, and Alexander was born a British subject. Through a unique course of events, he was fortunate enough to attend several of the most prestigious colleges and universities in the world. At a very young age the young scholar, whose father had gone bankrupt through a series of bad business deals, landed on the shores of that "new land" called America. His stature gained him recognition among the great men who were trying to build that country into the greatest democratic experiment in the world. He became embroiled in America's politics, and became a United States Secretary of the Treasury under President George Washington, where his accomplishments helped solidify the U.S.A. as a nation of fiscal integrity. By the time France decided to sell the Louisiana territory to the United States (which would double the size of the new nation), this "one man wonder" of the political sciences had established the United States of America as a country with excellence credit and considerable well-managed cash.
Today, his portrait joins Benjamin Franklin's as the only two non-Presidents to be displayed on U.S. currency. He had warned the dedicated founding fathers that "liberty seemed to be the only consideration for the new government. A principal of strength and stability in the organization...and of vigour in its operation" had to be the nation's financial health. While his compatriots made millions from their roles in the building of a new nation, he found himself mired in debt and political conflict. Little recognized for the invaluable conributions he made to the new democracy, his biggest claim to fame came as a result of a bitter duel between himself and a long-time political rival. Tragically, the duel ended this man's brilliant career at the age of 49. His name was Alexander.......Alexander Hamilton.
His grave was one of the few monuments still standing after the horrendous events in the first few months of 2008. It stands behind a church in New York City, about a block away from the remains of the New York Stock Exchange, which Alexander Hamilton helped establish, and which had become America's hallmark of financial prowess. On this cold wintery Tuesday, December 9, 2008, there was little left of Hamilton's legacy. The NYSE was demolished; the United States of America was in the throes of its worst-ever economic depression. What had been a stalwart of success - a symbol of opportunity and financial windfall for millions of Americans was now not much more than a heap of concrete rubble. Hamilton's vision of a "fool proof" financial solidarity had collapsed among the flimsy house of cards, phoney I.O.U.s and forgotten promises of a federal government that had gone dismally awry and wavered woefully off course during an eight-year reckless reign of a war-obsessed lunatic named George W. Bush. Compared to Stalin, Hitler, Amin, and Hussein, Bush was by far the worst culprit because he had managed to destroy the integrity and trustworthiness of the greatest nation in the world. It was Bush's insane and distorted foreign and domestic policies that finally persuaded a few hundred thousands people to form a secret society called Outraged United Taxpayers Revolting Against Government Excess (O.U.T.R.A.G.E.) that took matters into its own hands and started an American revolution so necessary to the survival of the country.
Never again would politicians be allowed to rampage over America's rights, finagle America's freedoms for their own convenience, or pollute the will of the people. Never again would 'corporate America' be able to wangle whatever it wanted by 'buying' America's elected officials. Never again would government become so excessively bloated that it would collapse under the weight of its own cumbrous obesity. It was the O.U.T.R.A.G.E. mission to return America's power to "the people"...the very idea intended by the United States Constitution and the Declaration of Independence.
Alexander Hamilton and his compatriots would be proud.