The Declaration Of Independence
By Greg L | 4 July 2008 | Patriotism | 18 Comments
Here’s what we’re celebrating today, lest we forget:
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.
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. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. 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. Such has been the patient sufferance of these colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former systems of government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over these states. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his assent to laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his governors to pass laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his assent should be obtained; and, when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of representation in the legislature, a right inestimable to them, and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved representative houses repeatedly, for opposing, with manly firmness, his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the legislative powers, incapable of annihilation, have returned to the people at large for their exercise; the state remaining, in the mean time, exposed to all the dangers of invasions from without and convulsions within.
He has endeavored to prevent the population of these states; for that purpose obstructing the laws for naturalization of foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migration hither, and raising the conditions of new appropriations of lands.
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 kept among us, in times of peace, standing armies, without the consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the military independent of, and superior to, the civil power.
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 quartering large bodies of armed troops among us;
For protecting them, by a mock trial, from punishment for any murders which they should commit on the inhabitants of these states;
For cutting off our trade with all parts of the world;
For imposing taxes on us without our consent;
For depriving us, in many cases, of the benefits of trial by jury;
For transporting us beyond seas, to be tried for pretended offenses;
For abolishing the free system of English laws in a neighboring province, establishing therein an arbitrary government, and enlarging its boundaries, so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these colonies;
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 has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burned our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries to complete 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.
He has constrained our fellow-citizens, taken captive on the high seas, to bear arms against their country, to become the executioners of their friends and brethren, or to fall themselves by their hands.
He has excited domestic insurrection among us, and has endeavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers the merciless Indian savages, whose known rule of warfare is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes, and conditions.
In every stage of these oppressions we have petitioned for redress in the most humble terms; our repeated petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
Nor have we been wanting in our attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them, from time to time, of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity; and we have conjured them, by the ties of our common kindred, to disavow these usurpations which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too, have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity which denounces our separation, and hold them as we hold the rest of mankind, enemies in war, in peace friends.
We, therefore, the representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the name and by the authority of the good people of these colonies solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, FREE AND INDEPENDENT STATES; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British crown and that all political connection between them and the state of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved; and that, as free and independent states, they have full power to levy war, conclude peace, contract alliances, establish commerce, and do all other acts and things which independent states may of right do. And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.
The opinions expressed here are solely the views of the author, and not representative of the position of any organization, political party, doughnut shop, knitting guild, or waste recycling facility, but may be correctly attributed to the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy. If anything in the above article has offended you, please click here to receive an immediate apology.
You can follow the discussion through the Comments feed. You can also pingback or trackback from your own site.
18 Comments
Views: 878
Loading ...
Happy Holiday to everyone!
Thank you for posting this. When I was in school in the 50’s and 60’s, we had to memorize parts of this and it stayed with me thoughout my years. We also had to memorize the Preamble to the Constitution, etc. We were also taught our patriotic songs, all verses, too - The Star Spangled Banner, America the Beautiful, My Country ‘Tis of Thee, just to name a few. I still know all of the words. Where did this all go? What’s ironic, at this minute I am watching the first version of The Manchurian Candidate and caught a line from the movie when the Korean sought a job with Raymond Shaw and Raymond said “We do not need interpreters here, we all speak the same language”. Wow, have things really changed.
TTT - why are you ticked pink? Did you finally get some action?
At the time of our nation’s birth, who would ever have guess that the words, “Supreme Judge” and “Divine Providence”, would, just 232 years later, be legally banned from public discourse and institutions?
“There are twenty-seven complaints against the
British Crown set forth in the Declaration of Independence.
To modern ears they still reasonable, in part,
because so many of them can be leveled against the
present federal government of the United States.
‘ … has erected a Multitude of new Offices, and sent
hither Swarms of Officers to harass our People, and
eat out our Substance’ ”
P.J. O’Rourke
Hope everyone has a happy and safe Fourth.
Possibly the most profound document ever written by people yearning to be free, pursue life and ambitions unencumbered by an oppressive force or government.
The signers were all quilty of high treason and sure to hang for their mutiny along with the military leaders. Such high ideals, as in anything in life, it all comes at a price, a price they fully understood and were willing to put on the altar of freedom no matter the outcome.
God Bless America and our troops. Happy Birthday United States of America!
ttt - is juan serving red-white-and blue tacos - or red-white and green tacos today?
DPortM said on 4 Jul 2008 at 11:05 am:
TTT - why are you ticked pink? Did you finally get some action?
It should be getting interesting. GregL es mi moy mucho bein amigo.
I’m Dissapointed about yesterday, but still own week and month cat for 20783 zip. SEE BELOW
http://www.zillow.com/search/RealEstateSearch.htm?addrstrthood=&citystatezip=20783#view=ver%3D1%26op%3Dsearch%26scen%3Ds13%26map%3D%28Aw%3AAN77032041%21As%3A38971959%21Ae%3AAN76909989%21An%3A39035190%29%26mode%3D%28zoom%3A12%29%26citystatezip%3D20783%26loc%3Dmap
http://www.zillow.com/search/RealEstateSearch.htm?addrstrthood=&citystatezip=20783#view=ver%3D1%26op%3Dsearch%26scen%3Ds14%26map%3D%28Aw%3AAN77032041%21As%3A38971959%21Ae%3AAN76909989%21An%3A39035190%29%26mode%3D%28zoom%3A12%29%26citystatezip%3D20783%26loc%3Dmap
http://www.zillow.com/search/RealEstateSearch.htm?addrstrthood=&citystatezip=20783#view=ver%3D1%26op%3Dsearch%26scen%3Ds15%26map%3D%28Aw%3AAN77032041%21As%3A38971959%21Ae%3AAN76909989%21An%3A39035190%29%26mode%3D%28zoom%3A12%29%26citystatezip%3D20783%26loc%3Dmap
143000 said on 4 Jul 2008 at 8:49 pm:
ttt - is juan serving red-white-and blue tacos - or red-white and green tacos today?
WHO BE YOU? IF TTT WAS A # IT WOULD BE 300 I’M NOW T4P
DPortM said on 4 Jul 2008 at 11:05 am:
TTT - why are you ticked pink? Did you finally get some action?
WILL POST TAX BILL FOR ‘09 SHORTLY
MORTGAGE: COUNTRYWIDE HOME LOANS INC.
PROPERTY DESCRIPTION: .4450 AC EQ PT LOT 1
CONDO:PLAT PHASE BLDG UNIT
SUBNAME: LIBER/FOLIO: 00000/000
SECTION: LATEST DEED: 02/23/2006
LOT: LAND: 93,196.00
BLOCK: IMPS: 281,530.00
ACREAGE: 19384.0000 F ASSESSMENT: 374,726.00
OCCUPANCY: PRINCIPAL RESIDENCE
Pay Online
TAX DESCRIPTION: TAX/CHARGE:
COUNTY PROPERTY TAX 3,597.37
FRONT FOOT 0.00
SPECIAL AREA 0.00
LIENS 0.00
OTHER TAXES/FEES 2,099.78
LESS HOMEOWNERS TAX CREDIT 0.00
LESS OTHER CREDITS - 1,717.24
TOTAL 3,979.91
PAYMENT RECEIVED INT/PEN 0.00 0.00
REFUND DATE REFUND AMOUNT 0.00
————————————————————————————————————————————
Account No: 1874916 FY 09
SEMI ANNUA L INSTALLME NTS FULL
1ST 1/2 YEAR DUE SEP 2ND 1/2 YEAR DUE DEC AMOUNT
BAL DUE IF PAID IN BASE + INT = TOTAL BASE + INT = TOTAL DUE
JUL 2008 1,989.96 0.00 1,989.96 1,989.95 0.00 1,989.95 3,979.91
AUG 2008 1,989.96 0.00 1,989.96 1,989.95 0.00 1,989.95 3,979.91
1st TRUST $350K
HELOC $96K BOTH COUNTRYWIDE
TTT - Ask Greg L. for my info - I still want to do a field trip to MD.
manassascityresident said on 5 Jul 2008 at 1:35 pm:
TTT - Ask Greg L. for my info - I still want to do a field trip to MD.
Sure thing. Please call me by me first name, 4 T’s before a P
Excuse me, TTTP
When I was writing my Pot. News column, “Big Dog,” I would frequently point this out ’round about this time of year. While I was happy to see that the estimable editors of that journal saw fit to reproduce the Declaration in this year’s Independence Day edition, the sad truth is that too few will read it — my sons and I read it aloud after returning home last evening, and before putting “The Patriot” in on DVD, an Independence Day tradition in the Young household — and even fewer will understand and fully appreciate it.
manassascityresident said on 5 Jul 2008 at 1:35 pm:
TTT - Ask Greg L. for my info - I still want to do a field trip to MD.
manassascityresident
Sent e-mail to GregL to pass onto you
TTTTP
Great! I look forward to receiving it!