By Dave
Meserve
It is time for a New Declaration of Independence.
Do you worry about the future that your children and
grandchildren will inherit?
Do you fear your government as it shows increasing disregard
for the Constitution and for basic human rights and civil liberties?
Do you become angry at your powerlessness to change the
course of your own government, motivated as it is by greed and lust for power
in its quest for world domination?
Do you wish you could alter or abolish that government,
through the ballot box or by non-violent resistance to its tyranny?
Do you view the government as separate from yourself and
your values, and wish to withhold your consent from its actions?
This is exactly how many people felt in 1776, and how many
feel today.
Reread the Declaration of Independence. The grievances suffered under King George III
bear an uncanny resemblance to those under our own George W. The following document draws directly from
the words of the Declaration, written 230 years ago.
Fortunately for the Founding Fathers, the government from
which they wanted to separate was rooted across the Atlantic Ocean, and they
were only one colony in its vast empire.
The government today, that is acting in opposition to our
basic moral beliefs, is our own and is rooted in Washington, DC.
It seems impossible for ‘One people to dissolve the
political bands that have connected them with another,’ when we all live on the
same continent, and when we the people still hold a democratic hope of being
able to change the actions of our government.
We are not yet strong enough to declare independence, nor are we exactly
sure what that would mean in the present context, but perhaps that time will
come.
Today, we may only be able to declare our moral separation from the actions of the federal government.
These actions have created a moral and Constitutional crisis
that demands a response from the people.
I humbly offer the following as the first draft of a new declaration,
which I call the ‘Declaration of Moral Separation.’
Declaration of Moral Separation
When in the
course of Human Events it becomes necessary to separate Ourselves from the Evil
being perpetuated by our Federal Government, a decent Respect to the Opinions
of Humankind requires that we should declare the Causes which impel us to the Separation.
We hold these Truths
to be self-evident, that all Humans are created equal, that we are endowed with
certain Unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit
of Happiness, that to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted, deriving
their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed, that whenever any Government
becomes destructive of these Ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or
abolish it.
The History of
the present President of the United States is a History of repeated Injuries
and Usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny
over these United States and all the Nations of the Earth. To prove this, let
facts be submitted to a candid World:
The President
and his Inner Circle have refused to assent to Laws the most wholesome and
necessary for the Public Good.
They base their
Power on Elections that did not represent the Will of the People.
They seek to
make the Executive supreme over the Legislative and Judicial branches of Government.
They have
affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.
They
have invaded and occupied Sovereign Nations in violation of our Constitution,
and of all Principles of International Law, Diplomacy, and Human Ethics.
They have lied
about the Threats posed by these Nations, in order to gain Support for the Invasions.
They have
killed countless innocent Civilians in their pursuit of those they call ‘Terrorists.’
They have held Prisoners
without due process, for extended periods, with no opportunity to prove their Innocence.
They
have tortured Prisoners, and subjected them to Inhumane Conditions, with the Approval
of our Highest Officials.
They have drained the National Treasury to fund Senseless Wars.
They have failed to respond to Domestic Emergencies brought
about by Natural Forces.
They have personally profiteered from their Policy Decisions.
They have supported the Wealthy and abandoned the Poor of
our Nation.
They have cruelly
lured our Sons and Daughters to kill and die in their Senseless Wars.
They have
erected a multitude of new Offices under the PATRIOT Act and the Homeland
Security Act, and, in the names of the FBI, and CIA, and NSA, have sent hither Swarms
of Officers to harass our People, and eat out our Substance, in violation of
our Constitution, our Bill of Rights, and Common Decency.
They have
damaged our Reputation and Standing among the Nations and People of the World,
lacking a decent Respect for the Opinions of Humankind..
They have made
us fear to travel the World because so many hate our Government.
They have
impugned the Patriotism of those who oppose their Brutal Policies.
A Government
whose Character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant is unfit
to be the Ruler of a Free People.
We, therefore, as
a Community assembled, declare that our Consent is withdrawn from the
Government of the United States of America for all of its Actions that violate
our Constitution, Federal and International Law, and the Shared Moral Beliefs
of Humankind.
We further
declare that that the President and his Inner Circle must be prosecuted for
their Crimes.
And for support
of this Declaration, We mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes
and our Sacred Honor.
Will you
support this document in principle and work with others on revising and
expanding its scope, and on adopting a unique draft within your own community?
Please visit www.newdeclarationofindependence.org
to read the original Declaration of Independence, to compare it to the new
Declaration, and to get involved in the movement.
Dave Meserve is a home
designer and builder, who serves on the Arcata, CA City Council.