The December 1773, Boston Tea Party was not a party nor about tea per say - it was about taxation without representation. So, dumping bails of tea owned by the British East India Company [their lower tax undercut other imports] into Boston Harbor was a 'message' to King George III...
Three years later the 13 colonies were so fed up they put their frustration in writing...With, a Declaration of Independence...
Just penning such a document was unprecedented and radical, as all monarchs of all colonizing countries expected their colonies to comply - always... Independent thinking was not only 'not' encouraged it was considered unimaginable.
"Believe me, dear Sir: there is not in the British Empire a man who more cordially loves a union with Great Britain than I do. But, by the God that made me, I will cease to exist before I yield to a connection on such terms as the British Parliament propose; and in this, I think I speak the sentiments of America." Thomas Jefferson, November 29, 1775
Introduction...Asserts as a matter of Natural Law the ability of a people to assume political independence; acknowledges that the grounds for such independence must be reasonable, and therefore explicable, and ought to be explained.
In CONGRESS, July 4, 1776
"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 affect 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 shewn, that mankind is 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."
*..."deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed"...'Consent' here means our VOTE and the 'governed' means We-the-People. The People, [legal citizens] are the government and those in elected positions effectively 'borrow' any and all of their authority from all Voters/the People - but - that authority is designed to be temporary. [George Washington set that precedent, conveniently ignored by politicians and forgotten at our peril, by voters.]
**..."it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it"...Here the word Right is capitalized as is the word People [again]. So, this means that those in elected positions are ACCOUNTABLE and if not, We have the Right to seek even demand, change.
***..."it is there right, it is their duty to throw off such Government, and to provide new guards"...When I read this, I'm reminded of January 6, 2021, and as disappointing as Donald Trump's lack of action the day before and that day was - there was also a massive Dereliction of Duty on behalf of Congressional Speaker, Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Chuck Shumer. FBI, CIA, NSA, [all domestic] intelligence reports indicated the potential for a vast gathering of election protestors by January 6th. So, question: in DC a city with more policing agencies than even perhaps London, England, where were 'any' of these agencies on the morning of January 6th to support the meager two dozen Capitol Police? Was that lack deliberate? Were the leaders of the House and Senate hoping for a riot to have something else to reproach the outgoing president? Therefore, I blame Donald Trump for his inaction, and Nancy Pelosi for her inaction, and Chuck Shumer for his inaction. Accountability for the protest that was allowed to escalate into a riot, January 6th rests with all three of these self-serving people.
In CONGRESS, January 2024
****..."mankind is more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed"... This describes just how tolerant 'We' the masses typically are - and how corrupt those in authority can get because they count on that tolerance as well as MainStreet's inability to organize for rebalance. But mass ignorance is what allows unethical [governing] people to prevail and continue, which is why an ethical, probing Press is so important. Infact it is why, and only why, our Press is protected in our Constitution. The Press is protected to expose corruption in government, but who exposes corruption in the Press? We must then rely on 'other' Press that may also have a bias... [See also: Working Without A Net: JOURNALISM IN AMERICA (workingwithnonet.blogspot.com)
Today, 248 years later the original 13 colonies are now 50 states and 5 protectorates. However, besides the obvious [since all men are created equal, slavery should have been abolished at the time our Constitution was ratified] the major 'shift' from dependency on those who govern by those governed has been systematically, but deliberately eroded. Why? Because we went from a major number of citizens prior to WWI who signed their name with an "X" to citizens who went to at least grade 9 then even more who graduated with a public high school diploma.
After WWII the productivity boom of the 1950s, with a social awakening in the 1960s and 1970s combined with a cosmic boost in further education from basic high school - to colleges, universities and trades - created a balooning Middle Class. Personally, if I was leading a diverse country, I'd want as many well informed, self-sufficent people as possible because they don't need to be led. However, for some odd reason those in public office see too many people who can look after themselves as a threat their career-path. [Go figure] Suddenly by 1980 there were millions and millions of voters who could not only read and write they were and could read anything and they were traveling because they had gained financial freedom to do so. Just as suddenly, the majority of people weren't so easily 'sold' on typical hollow promises and speech rhetoric.
What did those in positions of authority do...They detoured the very commerce momentum that provided strong weekly wages, by stalling wage increases for several decades and creating more departments issuing more regulations and allowing unions to once again disrupt commerce. Next, systematically dilute primary public-school education. [I've written about this before.] When Bill Clinton became President in 1993 America's public-school education standing in the world was 6th. By the time Joe Biden became President in 2021 America had dropped to 28th. And no finger pointing because America's education standards weakened under both Republican and Democratic Executive Administrations, Republican and Democratic held Houses and Senates. [See also: Working Without A Net: EDUCATION IN AMERICA (workingwithnonet.blogspot.com)
And last, gather in as many [millions] more illegal immigrants as possible who are needy, grateful and will listen to hollow election promises. What We-The-People are witnessing are decades of self-serving, self-dealing privilege that has reached critical-mass. [See also: Working Without A Net: ACCOUNTABILITY - IN AMERICA (workingwithnonet.blogspot.com)
What can We - those of us living on MainStreet do? We can do our job. Don't vote for some because they're "a good speaker" or they're personable or they have a cute family...We are employers. We are interviewing people for the 'job' of managing the affairs of 'our' government.
Check each job candidate's background and work experience. [Plese no more law school graduates!] Track what is promised in each of their job interviews [speeches] from state to state. Whoever is elected/hired and does not follow through with those promises - we call, we email and then we call again, and we email again. If someone we have 'hired' to manage our city, schoolboard, county, state or federal office - who becomes a disappointment then we call one last time to let them know - they lost our vote.
