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 is it; “to secure these rights”: Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. The pursuit of happiness, I’ll emphasize; not a guaranteed outcome of achieving it.
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.
Not clear enough yet?
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.
Let’s look at some of the specifics that sufficiently angered Jefferson et al to throw off a government.
- “He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.“
- “He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.“
- “He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation“
- “For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us“
- “For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:“
- “For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent“
- “For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury“
- “He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.”
One. Job.
Final warning.
Will “we the people” be up to the call?
So far we have not but there’s still time before the light is turned off.
Personal opinion follows; not that of The Zelman Partisans.
Up to which call?
The paranoid schizoprenia of the “social justice” left, calling for destruction of the system and instituting communism?
The “conservative” right supporting the current system of we-don-need-no-steenkin-constitution big gov, and the rule of whim?
The small faction of those like myself who — as a friend once titled an unpublished book — “I Just Want To Be Left Alone”? The other factions won’t leave us alone. The “right” wants to control our bodies and lives, while the “left” wants to control our very thoughts. Both sides want a full scale police state, for which the fake ChinCOVID “crisis” is a trial run; an apparently successful one.
There is “no voting our way out of this,” and shooting will only lead to either the “left” or “right” winning, or perpetual “hunting season.” None of those are good options.
There is no suing our way out of this, because the courts are also controlled by the insane-evil and less-insane-evil factions.
I see no good outcome possible anymore. But I’ll post one remaining beacon of hope in a few minutes.
I’ll watch for the beacon but there was a group of guys once who thought “we the people” could govern ourselves.
They laid some framework hoping that “we the people” were up for to that call.
The idea IMHO if we have to have government why not make it small and limited. And everything started and ended with the rights of the individual whereas government was meant to facilitate those individual rights, something that goes on the lines of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
“We the people” have kinda blown that call well at least the current group that is.