Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin and John Adams worked together to compile thie ...long train of abuses... in the Declaration.
I have listed them below. What is our modern list?
He has refused his assent to laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his governors to pass laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of representation in the legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved representative houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the legislative powers, incapable of annihilation, have returned to the people at large for their exercise; the state remaining in the meantime exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavored to prevent the population of these states; for that purpose obstructing the laws for naturalization of foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migration hither, and raising the conditions of new appropriations of lands.
He has obstructed the administration of justice, by refusing his assent to laws for establishing judiciary powers.
He has made judges dependent on his will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hither swarms of officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, standing armies without the consent of our legislature.
He has affected to render the military independent of and superior to civil power.
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 mock trial, from punishment for any murders which they should commit on the inhabitants of these states:
For cutting off our trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing taxes on us without our consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of trial by jury:
For transporting us beyond seas to be tried for pretended offenses:
For abolishing the free system of English laws in a neighboring province, establishing therein an arbitrary government, and enlarging its boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule in these colonies:
For taking away our charters, abolishing our most valuable laws, and altering fundamentally the forms of our governments:
For suspending our own legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated government here, by declaring us out of his protection and waging war against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burned our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy of the head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow citizens taken captive on the high seas to bear arms against their country, to become the executioners of their friends and brethren, or to fall themselves by their hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian savages, whose known rule of warfare, is undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
Kerodin
III
"He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavored to bring on the immigrants of the Middle East and Africa, the merciless muslim savages, whose known rule of warfare, is undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions of non-believers."
ReplyDeletePretty much all of the above (and below), just change the "he" to either "they" or "the government". There are more that can be added, and I'll have to think about how to word them before I add them myself, but do we really need more?
ReplyDeleteHe has refused his assent to laws... How many laws have they deemed "unConstitutional" because it offends some minority but would actually protect a majority? (Arizona comes to mind)
He has forbidden his governors to pass laws of immediate and pressing importance... Arizona comes to mind here as well.
He has refused to pass other laws for the accommodation of large districts of people... I'm not sure how to word this one, but I'm sure a variation would be valid if worded properly.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual... This one may not be valid anymore as the "gathering places" are pretty immobile nowadays.
He has dissolved representative houses repeatedly... Maybe not "dissolved" so much as ignored.
He has refused for a long time... I don't guess this one is valid anymore either.
He has endeavored to prevent the population of these states... Disallow population in accordance with the laws and encourage population illegally.
He has obstructed the administration of justice... War On... whatever, without valid justification.
He has made judges dependent on his will alone... Maybe not for the same reasons, but yeah, that too.
He has erected a multitude of new offices... Czars, EPA, Dept of Ed, Dept of Energy, ATF, etc, etc.
He has kept among us, in times of peace... In addition to the "standing armies" that most people agree are necessary for the nations security (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard), they also have standing armies in all the "local" SWAT teams, ATF, FBI, etc.
He has affected to render the military independent of and superior to civil power. They've been trying to do that too.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution... UN, IMF, etc.
For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us. Maybe not in our homes, but definitely in our towns.
For protecting them, by mock trial... Who was punished, and how, after Waco and Ruby Ridge?
For cutting off our trade... Not cutting it off, but allowing it to be destroyed by unions and lobbyists.
For imposing taxes on us without our consent. That one definitely belongs.
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of trial by jury. Patriot Act.
For transporting us beyond seas to be tried for pretended offenses. Guantanamo Bay.
For abolishing the free system of English laws in a neighboring province... Maybe not this one?
For taking away our charters... Are we a "democracy" or a "representative republic"? Do they obey the Constitution?
For suspending our own legislatures... Yeah, they've done that too: Healthcare, FCC's 'Net Neutrality', EPA, "executive order".
He has abdicated government here... Not in so many words, but they won't enforce our borders and at the same time won't 'allow' us to enforce them ourselves.
He has plundered our seas... Not as obvious, but what was Waco?
He is at this time transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries... Maybe not transporting them on their own, but certainly not preventing it (How many Chinese, Russians, Middle Easterners, etc. are in South & Central America?)
He has constrained our fellow citizens... To my knowledge this one isn't valid anymore.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us... Different 'savages', but muslims are just as bad, if not worse... Fine, call them muslim "extremists" if you want.
Sorry this is so long, but the list only gets longer from here.