The Declaration of Independence

And How Weve Come Full Circle

Derek Rideout

All throughout American history we as citizens of the United States of America are repeatedly told that we are the most free people on the planet. We are told of this non-stop in the public education system while decrying the faults and injustices of other nations. We are told this so many times in our lives yet no one seems to ever ask how. How are we free? What is it that makes us free? Have we ever written down what these freedoms are? Many people know of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution; too few know of the Articles of Confederation. Unfortunately, most people have never read any of these documents in their entirety. The public education system almost completely ignores these important pieces of our history and most people never have another time and place encouraging them to read. I started public education in the mid 1990s and graduated high school in 2007. During this span of slightly more than a decade I had received a grand total of a week and a half of teaching time in direct relation to the Constitution and absolutely none for the Declaration of Independence. How can that be? A government claiming to represent the freest people, and also controls the curriculum for public schools and they dont even bother to spend a lot of time explaining our freedoms and rights to us. That is not right and should be suspicious to all Americans who are expected to accept that you are free just because you have been told without explanation. The Declaration of Independence gives examples of many of the freedoms the king had violated as reasons for separating from the crown. These examples should be viewed as the foundation for what American freedom was really about. Since too few have actually read this document too few actually know the tenants America was founded on. It is therefore my intent to reprint the entire Declaration of Independence in its original language and to explain every paragraph in modern language. The point is not to belittle the reader but to show that although we are still on the North American continent we have nonetheless returned to England and its feudal ways. In going back and forth between the document and the writing I will have the Declaration in italics. I hope the reader finds this alarming as well as propelling because without those two together we might as well give up now and keep paying our 30% to the king. The Declaration of Independence was meant to liberate men both physically and mentally as life cannot live without philosophy so enjoy and stay ever vigilant. When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and

equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. In the opening paragraph here we are reminded that nothing can last forever and the decaying powers of tension often cause once peaceful relationships to crumble apart. By assuming among the powers of the earth they are telling us that freedom is not a gift from man but from God and Nature. To be fair and honest men they put it in writing for the world to see and know what happened. 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 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. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. 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. Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world. This is quite an amazing paragraph as it is highly philosophic, as it should be, in regard to the proper relation between the one living the life and the one guiding them along. Many rights are given upon birth as unspoken necessities so to speak. They are indeed self-evident to all who understand the true notion of freedom. Originally it was supposed to be property instead of the pursuit of happiness but even back then there were some who did not want many to have land for land produces wealth.

According to the philosophy, the only role of government is to ensure that all people are enabled to exercise their rights to the freest extent possible. The only way government could carry out any action was through the consent of the governed. This was to ensure the people had the final say on what government planned on doing. In todays system the only form of consent we give is by going to vote. If you vote, you consent. It doesnt matter who you vote for. They are all part of the system and by participating in the system you are consenting to the system. When was the last time any politician actually asked for your consent outside of the polls? Do they come and ask for your opinion on every piece of legislation that gets introduced? It continues on to say that whenever government fails to protect your freedom or becomes the aggressor against your freedom that it is the right of the common people to alter or abolish it and replace what was with whatever they see fit to regain the balance. We have been altering our form of government for the last hundred years at least and it keeps getting worse. It has been long overdue for the time to abolish our government and start anew. For good reason the Declaration says that long standing governments should not be disbanded for petty reasons because they knew that too many become accustomed to dependency on a system that is all they know even if it causes them to suffer. But when rampant abuse and constant usurpations seem to be without stop toward a goal of enslaving the people it is their right and duty to do away with that government by any means. The colonies had been treated as second class for decades just as many Americans are being treated as second class today by their own government. They had tried to work their way through the courts to find justice just as many Americans go through the courts today only to find more debt and without justice. They had decided it was time to stand together and fight back. When will we? 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. These are the first two reasons listed in the Declaration and go hand in hand as signs of the blatant disregard of the colonists by the king. Laws cannot become laws until the king gives his assent, or signs the bill as presidents today do. By doing so the king will only hear matters of concern to him and his wellbeing. The governors were the local authority and since

they lived with the colonists they would often make laws pertaining to their town or county. However, they still could not become law until the king gave his assent and he would often ignore them completely. We are seeing the same thing happen today as presidents and government officials will only talk about things to make them look good and act as if they are in a constant campaign. Put simply, they will ignore a common citizen who wants to talk to them about a serious issue affecting them. We also have the federal government (king) exercising unconstitutional power over states (governors) that pass laws of pressing importance to the people of that state who have voiced their opinion. Often times the public feel strongly about something and their representatives vote the other way. 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. This is a great example of what we have today. The king only gives you what you want if you give him something in return and the king always takes more than he gives. Today getting something from the government often involves getting registered into a database through licensing so your activity can be tracked and monitored. Being tracked and monitored certainly does not seem to be characteristic of an entity supposedly protecting your rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness does it? More often than not the services you receive from government are worse than can be found on the free market. Unfortunately you are forced into these services by law and the cheapness of them often drives the honest businessman out of business. 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. This one should be pretty self-evident in its relevance to our current situation. Our legislative bodies are called together at midnight and later to debate and pass legislation. They are convened over traditional holiday breaks to do the same. We have back door meetings that never make it on the congressional minutes, or public records. All this just to fatigue them into compliance hoping it will all be done with soon. He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

This reason is a bit more difficult to see the parallel as the federal government has yet to dissolve a representative house of the states or either house of congress. However, when the states themselves decide to pass their own legislation exempting them from federal legislation that under the constitution is rightfully in the jurisdiction of the states and the people the federal government just gets one of their judges to strike it down. Recent examples are the health care legislation that wrongfully attempts to force people into certain actions regarding their body, health, and money. A number of states have rightfully fought back against this and every time it gets to a federal court the judge strikes it down. Another recent example is when Texas introduced a bill to ban the TSA from all their airports. The federal government responded by threatening to make Texas a no fly zone. The point being today is that they dont need to dissolve representative houses. They are the mafia; if you oppose them they will shut you down. 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 mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within. Adding on to the previous reason the colonists explain that once the king had dissolved their legislative houses he did not seek means to reestablish security and order to those regions. A modern example of this is the immigration issue. Violent illegal immigrants have become a problem to states bordering Mexico. With federal protection of the border falling way short of the mark many states have sought to find their own solution for their problem. The federal government has stopped every state from protecting itself while refusing to increase its own effectiveness. In fact, the federal government is probably the cause of the entire immigration problem as they transport drugs, guns, and people back and forth between Mexico and the United States all the time. 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, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands. In feudal times people were not allowed to own land unless they were of nobility or paid a hefty tax to the crown. I assume one of the main reasons the king refused such laws was because it would mean less land for him and the more people that leave England means the less people under control of

the king. Today there is no worry of this as there is no land for us common folk to buy anymore. Even if you got enough money to buy some you would still have to pay the king for the privilege of living there with an annual rent known as property taxes. Unfortunately we now find ourselves in a situation where laws encourage foreigners to move here because they often treat the immigrants better than native people. With all living slowly being converted into apartments and the implementation of agenda 21 keeping people off land by military force there will be no worry for the government about people taking too many of the resources for the rich. 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. These two also appear to go hand in hand as they demonstrate the kings desire to have absolute control. A judge could not be a judge unless he were just as arrogant and selfish as the king himself for the king needed someone who saw the people the same way he did. In the colonies the king had less control over the judges and so he made it difficult for them to operate, opening the door for the military to rule for the king instead. Today we see the federal government ignoring the constitution by obstructing the administration of justice in states rightfully carrying out their duties and ideals. We also have supreme court justices who are appointed by partisan entities. In our system how does one expect to be a high judge without being dependent on the will of the government for their tenure and salary? Side against the State a couple times and you no longer have a job. Judges work for the government remember. And the government needs money and control as selfishly as the king and theres no better way to do that than bring a lot of people to court. He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance. This is one of the most important reasons and has the most obvious parallels to our modern society. Every year our federal and state governments seem to add another agency or department and keep getting bigger. Every new agency only serves to let the government creep more and more into your life until theres a law for everything you could possibly do. They then create a bunch of officers to enforce the codes of the new offices. This meant going around collecting taxes from everyone and making examples of those who dont want to. Taxes seem to keep going up every

year too. They harass the people by constantly showing up to say you owe taxes for this and that. They eat out your substance when they take your money and hard earned work through the taxes and regulatory inspections and compliances you have to pay for. Today these officers are commonly known as public employees. They are one of the greatest obstacles to true freedom and independence. Without people who willingly turn their back on their neighbor the king would have no control. We would all be a lot wealthier with the freedom to create new avenues of enterprise and thought. Unfortunately these public employees believe they are actually doing you a service when they steal from you and extort your labor. Just as the king did, the government believes it owns your labor, which is why we are taxed so much on it. None of this would be possible if it werent for the public employee lap dogs who get their little treats for their tricks. He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures. He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power These references to military power are some of the most important reasons listed in the Declaration in regard to our overall freedom and wellbeing. A standing army is the tell tale sign of a tyrannical police state because it gives all police power to the military. By rendering the military independent of and superior to the civil power the king had created a military dictatorship dependent on his will that left no recourse for the colonists. A standing army can generally be referred to as being a fully dressed, fully armed unit that looks ready for war yet remains inactive. Today a potent standing army still exists in our lands only we do not call them that; we call them police. Every police force today is militarized with assault rifles, bulletproof accessories, tanks, swat teams, debilitating weapons technology, high end surveillance, etc. They have shown over the last 30 years or so that they are indeed independent of and superior to the civil power. They beat, extort, rape, and kill all with impunity. They are always justified as following protocol and people yell only to return home later and watch it happen again another day. Women and children are not exempt. The next reason contains of list of reasons in and of itself so I will continue as normal. All the sub-reasons begin the statement with For. When it returns to individual reasons by themselves it will return back to the original statement of He has.

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: Here the colonists list all the wrongs the king has subjected them to in conjunction with foreign governments to help the king calm his people. Today our own government does the exact thing with the likes of the United Nations and all other supranational organizations formed out of international treaties. The UN governs the United States, not us. 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: Unbeknownst to many our own government does military training drills on live American streets in preparation for a martial law scenario. These drills are in direct violation of posse comitatus which prohibits the military from being in towns conducting police business. More surprising though is that these drills often include military members from foreign governments, often NATO members. I am not aware of any deaths resulting from these drills but the police get what could be termed mock trials for every person they kill and that number seems to rise exponentially. For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world: The king, the mafia, and the federal government all act in the same manner. If they cant make money off you making money then you cant make any money period. If you dont want to play by their rules they shut you down. Modern examples of this are drug laws and the debacle with raw milk. Many drugs are illegal because its too hard to accurately track them all to collect all those taxes so they create a bunch of criminals they can send through the court system and make money that way. Raw milk appears to be illegal because many producers of it do so without a government license. Since they cant make money of that racket they created some more criminals they could send through the courts and make money that way. For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent: This one brings us back to the public employee who harasses and eats out substance. There are literally hundreds of government agencies and departments that have taxing authority. The majority of them are composed of un-elected bureaucrats, meaning the people never even had a chance to review the person. You have never consented to the tax because you never consented to the entity levying the tax. However, the government will tell

you that by consenting to government in general by voting you have consented to everything they might do, which includes being taxed by people you never knew existed. For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury: While the right to trial by jury is still around it is exercised very rarely. The government does not explicitly deny this right but often keeps you out of a jury trial by misleading you or trumping up the charges to get you to accept a plea deal which usually involves confessing to charges you never committed. The majority of court cases never make it to trial because of plea bargains. The patriot act also allows for the government to detain its own citizens and find them guilty without ever stepping into a courthouse. For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences: This is too difficult to give an accurate comparison to todays society because such activities are highly classified yet legal under the patriot act. The federal no fly list is at more than a million people and continues to grow. It is not inconceivable that a government so concerned about watching its own citizens they deem threats would have already disappeared some of them to other lands. The executive branch of the federal government has also recently declared it perfectly legal to execute American citizens abroad or at home without trial if they are suspected of being a terrorist. Not to mention all the nefarious prisons in foreign lands of propped up regimes. For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring 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 into these Colonies This does not appear to have any obvious relations to our current political system. A possible parallel could be seen in a program being carried our between the American and Chinese militaries. Essentially we are giving them our military know how while they transfer their culture onto us. The soviets started to bring communism to America and it appears the Chinese will finish it. Theirs surely is an arbitrary government seeking absolute rule over their people. 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.

The constitution entrusts the federal government to give every state a republican form of government. Along with the limited scope of the federal government this should mean that the states have a fair amount of sovereignty unto themselves. The federal government has however declared themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever. If the federal government decides for themselves you are not capable of doing something for yourself they will exercise their power over anyone. This is exactly how the soviet system worked. Romania was an independent state yet completely subservient to the USSR much the same way Wisconsin is its own state yet it is almost completely subservient to the federal government. He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us. You and I are currently viewed in legal terms as having no standing to sue any branch of government. This means that individuals are not allowed legal recourse when the government violates the constitution. Even lawyers do not have standing. Many people, including lawyers, have recently tried to sue the federal government over the health care bill only to be told by the judge they do not have standing. We are essentially out of the governments protection in these cases. This is because the constitution is a contract between the states and the federal government. We as individuals are not party to that contract so legally are unable to sue for breach of contract. As far as the reader should be concerned, any unjust war should be considered a war against us. Any domestic political wars, i.e. the war on drugs/ war on poverty/ war on terror/ etc., should also be considered a war against us since we are the only people targeted by them. He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people. There are countless examples of the American government destroying its own lands as well as the lives of its own people. Politicians who think its a good idea to dump waste in lakes and rivers ruin our waterways. Our coasts are ravaged by all types of buildings and agriculture polluting them and adding run off to the waterways. Our towns get burned metaphorically as economic policies drive industry off shore or make it more expensive at home. All of these together along with constant inflation and ever increasing control over our lives by our own government has indeed destroyed the lives of too many of our people. Of course in a government deriving its just powers from the consent of the governed we are all the blame for this.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation. This does not happen in America today. We use mercenaries just not on our own citizens as far as I know. We have our own military and police to use on our own people. The government does however contract with bounty hunters on American civilians. Our general crimes against humanity in foreign and domestic lands have indeed proved barbarous and 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. One of the most common places this happens is in the military. For those who do not want to go along or wish to tell what they saw their fellow soldiers are turned on them. A Few Good Men may have been Hollywood but that happens a bit more than led on to. Pat Tillman was killed by friendly fire and Terrance Yeakey killed for what he saw at Oklahoma City. Both deaths were covered up and both were carried out by their own countrymen. Common people are made to take arms against their neighbor in a verbal manner by giving up evidence on another person. Most often intimidation is used in acquiring such information. 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. The latter part is historically inaccurate but the former still holds true. The government sends in agent provocateurs to many a protest to cause trouble and subvert the original crowd. They also tend to incite the riots by showing up to peaceful protests in full swat gear. The king is always worried about a large mass of people gathering in anger over any of his policies. The two party duality hoisted upon us has caused many domestic insurrections among neighbors over the smallest of matters, especially ones that shouldnt necessarily concern your neighbors. In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. 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. This is an important statement to let all know that the colonists did not just decide over night to separate from the king in all respects. To the contrary, they had tried numerous times through the court system to achieve recognition and due respect. Instead the king took insult to such demands of being treated with dignity that the colonists situation was often made worse. Many people have tried and are still trying to right the countless wrongs of our own government through the court system to no avail. The military and police kill wantonly without charges. Money is stolen through taxes we never consented to. People work tirelessly to get laws overturned, many of which are unconstitutional. Sufficient numbers of signatures have been gathered for all manner of petitions. All this through the courts to try and get back some liberty and we always get the same answer; sorry! Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends. This appears to be a pre-emptive statement. Whenever a small group of individuals dare to defy socio-political norms there are those still in the majority who will ridicule and say you are more concerned with image and publicity. To the colonists this was about freedom and they wanted neither popularity nor pity for their actions. They had warned their fellow man of the dangers and blatant tyranny just as many today warn our fellow man of the same only to realize they too are deaf to the voice of justice and consanguinity. As sad as it was they had to view their fellow Englishman as anybody else when the time came. Many of us today will face the same dilemma when the time comes. Deaf ears may not understand what you say but they will remember who said it when the kings army comes around. We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these

united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor. The closing paragraph is pretty self-explanatory. The colonists were done; no more. They had seen with their own eyes for too long what happens when you do not stand up to a government when they take from you. Eventually you end up in a situation neither party wanted to be in because it can only end through violent means now. They knew that the only way they could be strong was to be united. Just as the colonists did it is time us Americans mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor. The examples are brief but each reason for secession could have a book written about how we have the same thing happening now. We have made a complete 180 from our foundations as free people. Ask any number of the next few people passing by you what makes us free. Ask them if they know what our philosophy of freedom is based on our important historical documents. If you really want to see their mind freeze and possibly shut down then ask them how they could possibly know they are free if they dont even know our foundations of freedom. The vigilant reader could easily verify the number of examples as well as finding thousands more. Americans should have stood up a long time ago and things would never have gotten this bad. However, there is still time before we find ourselves hopelessly outmatched by military technology. I too appeal to the supreme judge of the world for my peoples awakening that we may regain our freedom. Our silence now will result in no one being able to hear our future screams. Facing death opens the door to eternal life and freedom is everlasting. Why should we wait on it when it is our right, our duty to throw off our current prison and start anew with a chance to finally have control over our lives?