Snapshot: Independence Day Is Resistance Day
What the Declaration of Independence says about getting rid of a tyrant—and how it speaks directly to this moment
On our nation’s anniversary, an uneducated and broken buffoon is holding the country hostage, determined to make this 250th year all about him. To assess what this moment is really about, I’m sharing an excerpt of my essay from a year ago. I think it provides a useful reminder of the bravery and clarity of vision required to vigorously reject an oppressive tyrant and pursue independence.
Chances are, when you think about the Declaration of Independence adopted in 1776, it’s this sentence that comes to mind: “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.” Indeed, this is foundational in both articulating the radical aspirations of our nation and providing standards and values against which we can measure our progress.
But I thought it worthwhile to go back through the whole document to think freshly about its meaning and relevance to our time. And, honestly, it was stunning to realize how closely many of the grievances our founders asserted toward King George III mirror the issues we are facing with the tyrannical despot currently occupying our White House.
So I’d like to cite some of our founders’ reasons for rejecting Great Britain’s ruler and declaring independence. They began by noting that the monarch produced “a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States.”
And then their list of charges included these 11:
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither…
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice…
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices…
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 kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
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 offences.
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us…
From undermining trade to denying justice, from deporting the defenseless to inciting insurrections—all under false pretext—King George sounds a lot like our country’s current hostile ruler. The declaration’s signatories sought redress from a mad king who demanded their submission to the dark cloud of tyranny, rather than allowing them to live as a free people.
On this July 4th, 249 years after our founders were compelled to put in writing the necessity of achieving independence, let’s take strength from their commitment to overcoming the yoke of oppression. And let’s not doubt our capacity now to overcome the despotic demands of a deranged dictator….and remember that we are a people dedicated to freedom.
Do you value this writing? If so, please consider becoming a paid subscriber for $50 a year or just $5 a month, if you’re not already. This helps sustain and expand the work of America, America, keep nearly all the content free for everyone and give you full access to the comments sections.
Thank you for revisiting this…and for the outstanding “Six Questions” with Malcolm Nance, whose depth and breadth of experience is a rare and precious thing during this fraught moment in our history. Trump has loaded our country into the ‘way back machine’. We might as well be under the thumb of King George, as you have so aptly described.
Happy Birthday, America? Not unless we become reborn. Not unless we remember our mission and strive for it; to become a freer, more equal, more compassionate country that thirsts for equality and opportunity for all. Not unless we remember what freedom is NOT. I think this piece lays bare how much has been stripped away, and how quickly.
I lay awake last night, wondering how some of the former leaders of this country are feeling and what they are thinking about all of this. Kamala Harris warned us, as did Barack Obama. Hillary Clinton, too. The people that protected our precious gem of a democracy during Trump’s first term are gone. He seeks refuge in tax-payer funded vanity projects that no one requested while some Americans starve. He wallows in self-pity, and bathes luxuriously in Justice Department directed revenge and illegitimate prosecutions of his perceived enemies at a scale that would make Nixon blush.
I am discouraged and afraid. Time marches on with no relief from this administration’s grift, corruption, and carelessness. The words of our founding fathers have been replaced by Supreme Court rulings that support Kingship. The Golden Rule has been replaced by; “He who hath the gold maketh the rule.” We await mass pardons of anyone and everyone that, as it is reported, has come within 200 feet of the White House, while our feet grow weary.
And weary we are…weary of the growing sense of dread…weary of the ignorance, weakness and fear among lawmakers who ought to know better…weary of our waning energy to care when it counts. Weary of the grandstanding of both political parties. We, the People, are treading water on this, our 250th Birthday. I am mortally afraid of drowning in this morass. Somebody send a lifeboat…an oar..or a buoy…before it is too late.
"And, honestly, it was stunning to realize how closely many of the grievances our founders asserted toward King George III mirror the issues we are facing with the tyrannical despot currently occupying our White House." Steven, that line is spot on. And philosopher George Santayana chimes in with "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." Another George, King George, has served as Trump's model. Every day Trump looks into a full length mirror, he sees not a rumpled pajama-clad elder, but himself fitted with crown and cape. And beause his sycophants have learned to praise this apparition, Trump starts his morning full of bravado and cruelty. If only Cheerios would suffice. Alas, the Breakfast of Champions sours in his bloated stomach.