Forum Post: A Declaration of the People, by the People, for the People...
Posted 13 years ago on Nov. 19, 2011, 7:53 p.m. EST by OneAmericanPatriot
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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.
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.
I think our Government needs to be peacefully reminded who is in charge.
I've written a declaration for the movement, we don't need to be reminded of something form the past. http://www.scribd.com/doc/73304557/Declaration-of-Independence-for-a-New-Era
--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,-
Yes, article 5 of the US constitution NOW!
Article V conference, Mark Meckler Lawrence Lessig at harvard 9/25/11-video comments http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-7ikbvu0Y8
Lessig power point on article V http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gpbfY-atMk
Lots of facts here about Article V. http://algoxy.com/poly/article_v_convention.html
This is exactly why I posted this! Thanks! That is my favorite passage from this piece of our history!
To me it reinforces the absolute intent of the framers of 1876 to the day of the constitution, that we have the right to restructure government.
I think that all of you are right: that many (many-not all) of our politicians and business leaders are acting in their own interest.
But you have to keep in mind the honest businessmen and women. Those who are playing the game of capitalism and nothing else.
Also, think of the honest politicians. They are playing the game of democracy and a free republic and nothing else.
Listen to yourselves. If you make laws against businessmen and politicians, you are stripping away the original ideals that people like Jefferson risked their lives to give to us.
Those men during the Revolution fought for a country they believed would be built around capitalism and democracy. Yes, there are those in the "1%" who are not following those ideals and simply acting for themselves. But you can't make laws that would compromise the original ideals.
If you did, that would be changing the system drastically.
And I can think of a name for the new system. Communism.
In the film "The Patriot" with Mel Gibson, I recall his speech in the very beggining in front of an assembly. The men are complaining about the English King George taxes and want to break away from England. Then, mel gibson says "Why should I separate from a tyrant 5,000 miles away when I have 5,000 tyrants in a single mile".
When America became independent, it only sold itself to already powerful existing landlords. There was a republic, but one republic where the rights were proportional to one's wealth. An ordinary folk at that time could not be part of anything, the rich would control everything.
A century passed (19th century). Then came the time of industrial development and corporative rise. These new industries made quick profits but again, just for the owners as their workers were miserably paid.
Then 20th century comes and with it, stock markets. Corporations buy stocks, invest and expand their profits. They merge and become stronger and their profits are concentrated now in even fewer people, millionaires who invest their fortunes in private securities. Meanwhile, the major public has not even access to a decent healthcare and social security retirement programme or basic financial assistance.
Status quo is in America since its foundation. There has not been any change of guard since america became independant. America is still an aristocracy, not a democracy: a minority in Wall Street controls the country in its favour and will not hesitate to eliminate all it perceives as a threat to its interests, even if at the expense of the majority. If there is need for more money? "Tax the majority, not us", "cut their wages not our bonuses". etc. etc. status quo.
A democracy being ruled by 1% is a tyranny for the remaining 99%
let Facts be submitted to a candid world:
Politifact says: TRUE!
"94 percent of winning candidates in 2010 had more money than their opponents."
"The ratio of corporate profits to wages is now higher than at any time since just before the Great Depression."
"There are corporations in this nation, some of the biggest corporations in this nation, who do not pay taxes."
"Two years after the worst recession most of us have ever known ... corporate profits are up."
"Oil companies showered regulators (at the Minerals Management Service) with gifts and favors"
"Halliburton gave Dick Cheney a $34 million payout when he left the company to join the presidential ticket."
"Any lobbyist could go into any legislator and say, if you don't vote our way on this bill, we're going to run a million-dollar campaign against you in your district."
"24 million people in this country "can't find a full-time job, 50 million can't see a doctor when they're sick, 47 million people need government help to feed themselves and 15 million families owe more than the value of their home."
"The Fed created $1.2 trillion out of nothing, gave it to banks, and some of them foreign banks, so that they could stabilize their operations."
"Since 1995 the top 400 wealthiest families have seen … their tax rates go down 40 percent."
"Just 400 Americans -- 400 -- have more wealth than half of all Americans combined."
Unfortunately I believe the Bill of Right and the Constitution are essentially dead. Those documents mean whatever the petty tyrants in black mummus and lawyers and politicians say those documents say they mean. Our legal system has become a bad joke and those founding documents are only trotted out when they are useful to some politicians position.