Wednesday, February 1, 2012

A Declaration of Dependence

If the American Revolution had produced nothing but the Declaration of Indpendence, it would have been worthwhile.

Samuel Eliot Morrison (1887-1976),The Oxford History of the American People

February 1, 2012- We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Dependency, the pursuit of Unhappiness, and equal outcomes regardless of merit or work invested –That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their powers from the consent of the government – That whenever any Form of Government becomes oppressive of these ends or any class arises above the others, or accumulates Wealth beyond those of others, it is the Right of the People to alter it, amend it, and redistribute it; and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them seem most likely to effect their Dependency and Unhappiness and to correct any inequality or to allow one class to rise above Others, as judged by the present Righteous Government. The history of the past Governments is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of absolute inequality.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the United States of America, do, in the Name, and by the Authority of the good People of this Nation, solemnly publish and declare, That these United States are, have the Right and Obligation to make dependent States totally dependent, to render independent individuals or organizations dependent, That they, the present Government, be Absolved from all Allegiance to past Government, and that all political connections between them and past Rulers, ought to be totally dissolved; and that Government ought to have the Power to Bind independent States and independent individuals and to render them Dependent, that Central Government has the full Power to institute new Laws, however unpopular; to impose individual taxes for any act of Commerce, so long as they judge it to be for the Common Good and their own Good; and to do all other Acts and Things which Dependent States, made up of People dependent on Government, might do – And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on Divine Providence, we mutually pledge our Lives, the Debts of our Citizens, and their Sacred Honor to repay those Debts to whatever other country and to whomever those Debts are owed.

Tweet: The Declaration of Independence may be in danger of being replaced by a A Declaration of Dependence.

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