Revolution? Jefferson's words ring true for our time...

[Her Blondness]

"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."

"But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security."


The Declaration of Independence lists grievances on THEIR King George, the similarities are almost eerie:

"He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good."

"He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers. "

"He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries. "

"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 combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation"

"For depriving us, in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury: "

"For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:"

"For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever. "

"He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us. "

"He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation."

Those words could have been written today!

[progressiveBadger]

1. Wow...

I'm reading "People's History" right now, and noticed some similarities, but I haven't read the Declaration for some time. Very interesting.

[Her Blondness]

4. I'm reading the "People's History" too! n/t

[progressiveBadger]

8. Awesome! n/t

[bleever]

2. Damn right. n/t

[Name removed]

3. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Dora]

5. I assume you meant "wasted ten minutes," but what's your point?

How was that a waste?

Never mind - the post was deleted.

[alittlelark]

6. WOW.... that is certainly eye-opening

Perhaps a copy of The Declaration of Independance, with some of the key similarities to our times highlighted, would open the eyes of some.

[tridim]

7. I sent a copy to my Republican Mom

because she was worried I was overreacting to the theft. She responded saying the DoI was an "old document", and not applicable to today's world. I couldn't help but think she's under the same spell the Germans were during Hitler's reign. So very sad.

[bloom]

9. "not applicable"

that is sad. It's sadly also typical, I imagine.


A lot of people just aren't getting the story of what is going on.

[MatrixEscape]

10. That's like saying ...

a foundation is no longer applicable to the structure it supports.

[electropop]

11. Declaration is "old", Geneva Convention is "quaint"...

...whatever. Freedom, equality, and justice are silly outdated notions. They went out with parachute pants and knitted ties.

[donkeyotay]

12. I particularly liked this part

"But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security."

But I thought Republicans believed in freedom and worshipped the Founding Fathers. How come now they say everything except their party's power is irrelevant?

[Shalom]

13. Let's Draft A Second Declaration of Independence

I posted the suggestion below within a thread I started called "Call to Action - A Second American Revolution" - perhaps we should create a separate thread to solicit inputs regarding the 2nd Declaration of Independenc - I took a stab at the intro paragraph below:

----------------------------------------------------------

This is why I believe we need to draft a 2nd Declaration of Independence, and have 100-200 leaders sign it, because we don't need approval from anyone to do so.

Furthermore, it would be neat to draft it..I imagine one could borrow the language of the 1st document, along the lines of:

"When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to RESTORE the political bands OF DEMOCRACY which have connected them with EACH OTHER, and to RESUME among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, WHICH THEY HAVE ENJOYED AND LOST, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the RESTORATION OF DEMOCRACY."

[Her Blondness]

14. Excellent idea!! n/t

[suston96]

15. Think about it

One of the world's newest democracies - the Ukraine - sensed immediately that its election had been stolen. The election exit polls told them that its election had been corrupted. It immediately did something about it.

Immediately! Didn't wait for the TV reporters, the newspapers, talk radio and the rest of their media...

They immediately went out into the square in Kiev and filled it and stayed there until something happened - and it did happen - a new election and election law reforms.

In this, the world's oldest democracy, the fountainhead of all democracies of the modern era, we had exit polls, that were, uh, "weighted" to match results, that told us that the elections here were fair and just and uncorrupted.

But many of us didn't believe that the same exit polling method used in the Ukraine (we actually paid for that one in the Ukraine) was telling us, after a little "weighting" that our elections were fine and dandy.

Now the Ukrainians have a very simple parliamentary democracy that seems subservient to the will of the people, especially when hundreds of thousands of them gather in the streets and the squares and stay there for weeks, in the bitter cold, and demand that something be done.

We don't have that. We depend on the media to tell us things and we act accordingly.

The media? They are telling us nothing. So we do nothing?

The "victorious" Republicans? Why should they say anything? They won!

So what do we do? Do we go out into the bitter cold and stand there until something happens? Maybe we could. But we won't. It's too cold.

What is left when so many of us know that our election was stolen from us and we feel so helpless in doing anything about it?

What will it take to follow what Jefferson said about a corrupted government enslaving its people. Because, my friends, when elections are stolen, the electors - the people, become enslaved by the election thieves.

Associate Justice of the US Supreme Court said: "The right to vote, without which all other rights are illusory."

Shall we smother in our illusions or shall we gather together, even in the bitter cold, to defend our precious rights?