Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, Thomas Jefferson, with help from Ben Franklin, was selected by a group of radical treasonous rabble rousers to pen a note to King George II and inform His Majesty that these colonies, now united, no longer acknowledge his rule and instead will do the unthinkable.
They will rule themselves.
Or, as I tell the story to my class of four year olds:
"We don't want to belong to your country anymore. We want a country of our own."
Declaration of Independence
The most quoted part of that declaration
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.
leaves out an important phrase
That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.
While "...all men are created equal..." has become a mantra for every civil rights movement in this country, the significance of what those words really meant at the time needs to resonate today.
Thomas Jefferson wasn't talking about black people or women or gays. He was talking about a revolt against a ruling class of kings and dukes and noblemen who sat in their castles surrounded by luxury at the expense of a 'working class' who had no choice but to do their bidding.
No choice because the alternative was death- either by starvation or the elements or the sword. The common man had no say in the matters of his well-being. There wasn't a thought in his uneducated head to improve himself-to strive for a better future-to change his lot in life.
Until, that is, when a remarkable group of men in that land far, far away decided that something was dreadfully wrong with the status quo and let the king have it, no holds barred.
Thus was born the Revolution- the birth of our country- the land of the free and the home of the brave.
Who, at that time, really expected to succeed? Taking on the most powerful nation in the world? King George must have fallen off his throne laughing.
So how did a semi-unorganized group of colonists succeed in their battle for independence? Partly because the people in Great Britain became sick and tired of sending their fathers and brothers and sons off to die in a war in a land they knew nothing about. Partly because the noblemen became sick and tired of paying for a war that was killing off the workforce. Partly because the idea that a common man can determine his own destiny was an idea worth fighting- and dying for. Tenacity wins.
Does anything sound familiar? This has been bugging my brain for awhile now. For all the hoopla about the Founding Fathers spewing from the mouths of the Republican Right- what they are creating in this country today is what so many have risked- and gave their lives to abolish with that declaration penned so beautifully so many years ago.
The Tea Partiers were right. Thomas Jefferson did say that every once in awhile a revolution is needed to keep tyranny at bay. Unfortunately for them, those misguided brainwashed fools who believe the lies being paid for by today's version of nobility, "Tories" if you get my drift, the tenacity of the common man will prevail. It has to.
I want all who write here, or comment, or lurk-all who stand out in the cold holding signs, or sleep uncomfortably on a hard floor- or call endlessly to air their grievances- or contribute what little they have left to support what appears to be an attainable goal to know that being a radical treasonous rabble rouser puts you in the greatest company ever!
Yes. We hold these truths to be self-evident.