July 4, 2013
Eastern Poland
Amid all the barbecues and
fireworks today in the Land of the Free, it may be worth a short
pause to remember the words of Thomas Jefferson some 237-years
ago:
"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."
Powerful stuff.
In one of the most eloquent
treatises in history, Jefferson lays out that human beings are born
free. And that we create governments in order to stay free.
Further, whenever governments
become destructive to this effort, human beings have a right to
dissolve the government and create a new one.
Jefferson then lays out an
entire laundry list of grievances against the British King that have
compelled the colonists to throw off the chains of tyranny and form
a new government. This "long train of abuses" includes:
- He has
erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of
Officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance.
- He has
obstructed the Administration of Justice
- He is at
this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to
complete the works of death, desolation and tyranny
- For taking
away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering
fundamentally the Forms of our Governments
version of the US government has become little better than the court
of King George III, one might make the exact same arguments
today.
- They have
employed a multitude of offices, from the National Security Agency
to the US Postal Service, to illegally spy on their citizens.
- They have
used the power and intimidation of tax authorities to bully
political opposition groups.
- They have
authorized the military detention and drone assassination of their
own citizens.
- They have
indebted future generations who will not be born for decades, and
squandered the nations wealth on fraud, waste, and foreign
military folly.
- They have
destroyed the primary function of the free market by awarding
supreme monetary authority to a tiny banking elite.
- They have
passed tomes of new laws and regulations which criminalize
everything from collecting rainwater to childhood lemonade
stands.
several more to add to this list. And I'd be curious to hear from
you about it.
By Jefferson's own standard, it
seems rather clear that the government-- most governments-- have
become destructive against their higher purpose: to safeguard the
people's liberty.
Today shouldn't be a
celebration... it should be a memorial service. Or at least a time
to reflect heavily-- when will enough finally be enough? When will
it be time to act?
No comments:
Post a Comment