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Thomas Jefferson, the principal author of the Declaration (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
On this day 236 years ago, the second continental congress formally adopted the Declaration of Independence. The 13 British-American colonies had in essence put their proverbial middle fingers up in the air, and wagged them at that island across the pond.
Our founding fathers then created the United States of America, a nation founded upon the ideals of religious freedom, freedom of speech, the right to peaceably assemble, limited governmental power, armed citizens, unreasonable search and seizure, and states’ rights.
As great as this nation is, it seems to me our founding fathers are probably rolling over in their graves after seeing what they fought for has become.
Our founding fathers decreed that American citizens would be free to practice their own religions, and also to have its government separated from religion. However, our national motto is, “In God we Trust.” It appears on our currency and has done so since 1957. For the longest time prayer was allowed in our public schools. In 1954 the phrase “one nation under God” was added to the Pledge of Allegiance.
In today’s society we have right-wing Republicans proposing laws that would affect all citizens which have a background in their religious beliefs. Anti-abortion laws, birth control laws, and the ban on gay marriage all come to mind.
The right to peaceably assemble was infringed upon last year in multiple cities as police forces nation-wide descended on Occupy Wall Street protests and often times forcibly removed the protesters with excessive force.
Our founding fathers vision of a federal government with limited power is succumbing to a government that is large, unwieldy, and out of control. The latest such example is Obamacare, which mandates that all citizens must purchase private health insurance. Other recent examples are corporate bail-outs of banks and car companies, cash-for-clunkers, ludicrous taxes on junk food, and forcing a school child to buy a school lunch when the lunch the child brought from home was deemed unhealthy by the school.
The government is meant to serve the people, not tell them how to live their lives. If a strict diet of Twinkies makes me happy, I shouldn’t be unreasonably taxed in my pursuit of happiness. The same goes for smoking cigarettes or drinking alcohol.
Our founding fathers also believed in armed citizens to not only protect themselves from threats from outside of the country but also within. Their belief was that citizens could use firearms to defend themselves against a government that had become too tyrannical, which our government is in danger of becoming. Instead, gun laws become stricter and more cumbersome by the day. Many believe Obama, if re-elected, will move to erase the 2nd amendment and thus make owning a firearm illegal. What’s the saying? If guns are outlawed only outlaws will have guns? I know that would make me sleep much better at night.
Illegal search and seizure was also a concern of our founding fathers and they made sure that our constitution addressed that and made it illegal. However, ever since the creation of Homeland Security that amendment has been tossed out the window. All Homeland Security has to do is declare you’re a suspected terrorist and they can do whatever they want to you. They can search your house, steal confiscate your belongings, or detain you indefinitely and there’s nothing you can do about it. You have no legal recourse, either.
I’ve gone off on a tangent on a day that we should be celebrating this great nation, but at present I fear the direction this country is going. I truly love this country and what it’s supposed to stand for, but the ideals this country was founded on are being threatened by extremists from the left and right.
My illogical rant is over now. Happy Independence Day, folks. I hope you had a good one.
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