So you say you want a Revolution?

 

IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776,

 

The colonies of the Americas who were under British rule declared their independence. We celebrate this act of rebellion, which ultimately lead to the United States of America. But why did they do it? There is no need for us to debate it; thankfully, they wrote a  clear statement about why they decided to break away from the authority of their government, and defend their independence with their own lives:

"To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world."

Their government, via the king, refused to approve laws that the residents of the colonies deemed necessary for the public good.

It banned the local governors from passing laws that were necessary to fix immediate problems in their society until the king approved those laws, and then failed to address those needs.

It refused to address infrastructure needs unless the affected people "would give up the right of Representation in the Legislature."

When some people in the Legislature tried to stand up for the rights of the people, the king simply shut those dissenting voices down.  

The king interfered with the elections of the representatives of the people.  

The government passed laws specifically to prevent immigration to and the citizenship of foreigners in the colonies.

The king repeatedly obstructed Justice.

The judges appointed were politically and financially tied to the will of the King.

New government offices were created with the purpose of draining the poor of their money.

The towns and villages were patrolled by armed officers who operated under their own set of laws that made them above the civil law that governed the rest of the people.

Large numbers of  armed officers were kept within the towns and cities, and when they committed murder, were given only mock trials, and acquitted.

The Legislature passed laws that were directly against the will of the people.   

The colonies were taxed without the consent of the people.

The colonies' trade agreements with the rest of the world were blocked.

The colonists were denied Justice in the Courts.

The king fundamentally altered the forms of their governments.

The government declared war against its citizenry.

The King rallied the people to violence against other citizens.

And while these things happened, the colonists attempted to follow the legal pathways afforded to them, and their repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury.

 Our founders concluded:  "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."

These grievances do not sound unfamiliar, do they.  The colonists decided that this was intolerable and that they would rather die than be ruled by such a government.  Their leaders again and again failed to listen to their own people, and worked to prevent them from participating in the legal paths that were set up in order to build a just and beautiful society. It attempted to discredit those who dared speak out against injustice. It fought to keep those colonists as lesser citizens.

And so, those citizens declared, not in private amongst themselves, but to the entire world, they were no longer subject to that unjust, oppressive, tyrannical government.

Are you required to be subject to a government that passes laws against the will of the people? That disenfranchises millions of its own citizenry?  That offers a de facto condoning of the actions of its armed officers, whether murder, extortion, theft, or brutal violence?

Our founders said, "no."

Are you required to suffer under injustice after injustice while pressing issues remain unaddressed? Are you required to die in order to line the pockets of someone who was able to twist the political process in such a way as to benefit them?

Our founders said, "no."

Are you required to be subject to a government that works to undermine the very foundations by which it rules? Or which acts to incite your fellow citizens to do acts of violence against each other?

Our founders said, "no."

Are you brave enough to demand liberty and accept nothing less?

We have come to the point in our nation's history where the normal routes of political change have been actively withheld from us.  Now, our government would not hesitate to see you dead, millions of you, cutting you off from your medication, from a doctor.

How many times has disease been used to conquer those who were inconvenient to the people in power?  Measles.  Small pox.  Yellow Fever.  Their method today is more sophisticated than passing out germ-ridden blankets, but the effect is the same: Millions of people dead.

The time has come for us to be bold. We must stand up and exclaim, unequivocally: you must listen to the Voice of the People.  There is no alternative.  It's a choice between our Life or our Death.

Will you chose life?