The Declaration of Independence Has Always Been a Tremendous Bluff

[marmar]

The Declaration of Independence Has Always Been a Tremendous Bluff
On Independence Day we should celebrate the people with the guts to call it like it is.

By Charles P. Pierce
Jul 1, 2022


(Esquire)

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 shewn, 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.

That’s some kind of paragraph right there. It is, of course, it’s always a tremendous bluff, something that was not lost of people at the time. Dr. Samuel Johnson famously remarked,

“How is it that we hear the loudest yelps for liberty among the drivers of Negroes?”

Good question. Ball’s in your court, TJ.

All the best parts of this country’s history came about from people with the guts to call that enormous bluff, and they should be the people we celebrate every Independence Day. The list is far too long for our purposes here, but there’s no question that, on this weekend every year, we should revere Susan B. Anthony, and Harvey Milk, and Russell Means, and John Lewis far more than we do Edward Rutledge, Joseph Hewes, or Button Freaking Gwinnett. Those people risked their lives and their freedom in the job of helping Thomas Jefferson not look like a ridiculous hypocrite in history. He owes them big time.

Also, as the Fifth Dimension showed us, you can sing it if you want to. ...........(more)

https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a40486497/july-4-founding-fathers-real-heroes/

[TigressDem]

1. To answer one question: Leading people against oppression requires 100% dedication.

SO AS

Dr. Samuel Johnson famously remarked,

“How is it that we hear the loudest yelps for liberty among the drivers of Negroes?”


BECAUSE they had people doing the work to keep their life going while they made world shaking plans and set about acting upon them and giving people various parts to play in the revolution.


IRONICALLY, the final straw that GOT US a WORKABLE CONSTITUTION and BILL OF RIGHTS was the tea tax, but being milked for money by the British Empire without thought of what the colonists needed gave the "almost Lords" enough justification to protect their money and lifestyle.

NOW MAYBE that is WHY they did it and their followers want to KEEP up the oppression, just under local leadership that is tired of being mid level management and wants it all for themselves.


BUT THE WAY THEY WROTE IT GIVES "We The People" THE POWER.

SO, if WE stick to the actual "WE THE PEOPLE" version, then it works.



I REALLY WISH we could declare White Supremacy Groups who advocate violence as Domestic Terrorists and put them down with the military and be done with their crap. Problem is, half of them probably ARE military or police.

[malthaussen]

2. "We the People" is a big bluff, too.

The Constitution has been re-defining "People" since it was written. It sure-enough meant something very different in 1788.

-- Mal

[TigressDem]

3. TRUE, but they made it a "living document" and installed "checks and balances".

Ben Franklin probably did a lot to outsmart many of them as well as some founders who truly hoped we could have a better country if we depended on the common decency of the general public to keep the worst elements in line.

We weren't ONE country of thought even then.

But at that time a man's handshake was like a written and signed contract of today.

Many things today are improvements, but honor like that is hard to come by these days.

[TigressDem]

4. We just have to continue to be willing to call that bluff over and over again.

Y'all are Constitutional Scholars and Fundamental Rights Purists, well ya' gotta deal with the heart of the law and the modern world too.

Otherwise, give back your cell phones, because the founders didn't have those either.

Oh and set up your outhouse, no indoor plumbing.

[dalton99a]

5. Kick