Christine Smith's Blog

Independence Day (Part 1)

“…All eyes are opened, or opening to the rights of man. The general spread of the light of science has already laid open to every view the palpable truth, that the mass of mankind has not been born ,with saddles on their backs, nor a favored few booted and spurred, ready to ride them legitimately, by the grace of god. These are grounds of hope for others. For ourselves, let the annual return of this day forever refresh our recollections of these rights, and an undiminished devotion to them. ... ” – Thomas Jefferson in a letter to Roger C. Weightman , June 24, 1826, regarding Independence Day and having to decline an invitation to Washington DC for the 50th anniversary of The Declaration of the Independence

As John Adams wrote to his wife Abigail, “The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more.”

In honor of those brave souls, their courage, and their personal sacrifices to create this nation, Americans enjoy picnics, barbecues, parades, military salutes/displays, and of course, fireworks. Everyone does those things, conservatives-liberals-and libertarians alike. But do many give a whole lot of thought to the meaning of Independence Day?

Consider the last line of the Declaration of Independence: “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.”

That is courage. It is an utmost commitment.

In a nation whose government usurps liberty left and right (no pun intended-but in retrospect it’s apropos), what are Americans celebrating with their food and festivities every July? Do they even think abut what liberty is? Can they recognize it when it’s gone? Better yet, can they recognize it and fight for it with all their being in the spirit those who founded this nation did? Can Americans honestly say they pledge their “Lives, our Fortunes and…sacred Honor” in support of all that the Declaration of Independence did, stands for, and means to us today?

Freedom is your birthright.

We’re celebrating liberation! Liberty! The rejection of empire and its tyranny.

This past weekend, I considered this as I framed a beautiful print of The Declaration of Independence for my office wall. Reading it word for word again, and scanning the signatures of these men, I was touched by their ability to so eloquently express the desire of the freedom loving man for liberty:

“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...”

How powerful!

And how necessary to be read now by all.

Foremost, what does that first sentence declare?

We live in a time in which, unfortunately, our “leaders” are indeed developing that which the signers of The Declaration of Independence rejected George III for, “a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States.” Wisely, the Declaration cautions that before a long standing government be altered or abolished, that “prudence” be considered. But if the government continues with an end goal of “Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.”

Forethought, an element of prudence, clearly indicates that the path this nation is on now is the antithesis of what our founders envisioned.

Why we’ve even come to the point where training materials used by the Department of Defense teach personnel that “protests” are a “example of low-level terrorist activity,” (read details

From the perspective of the government who views passionate dissent as dangerous, this makes sense. After all, the term “terrorist” is always utilized by one side against another (who may very well view their side as freedom fighters/patriots and heroes). Objectively, our founding fathers would have been considered traitors or terrorists from the perspective of the British, but only viewed as such by those who they opposed, not by the British colonists here who rejected the tyranny they were subjected to. Remember these were individuals coming together to oppose the tyranny of their own government.

To have liberty we must reject empire.

The current government would like nothing more than for the majority of Americans to forget or adopt a terribly distorted idea of both The Declaration of Independence and our Constitution. They effectively do this by diverting the attention of the American people to fearing alleged “enemies” and “threats” and all the while the biggest threat is internal – the government itself.

(Continued: Independence Day – Part 2

http://christinesmith.us/wordpress/2009/06/29/independence-day-part-2/)