Two hundred thirty-five years ago, the 13 American colonies sent representatives to Philadelphia, to draw up a document that would declare independence from the British crown. This was not done as a knee-jerk reaction to one event, but was the culmination of discontent with a series of actions taken by the British monarchy against the colonies over many years.
Discord over issues such taxation, tariffs, trials by jury, dissolution of governing bodies and mandatory quartering of troops pushed the colonists to the tipping point. When the men sent as representatives from each colony gathered in Philadelphia, it was not to decide on separation from the British monarch, it was to draft the document that would declare that separation.
The Declaration of Independence, one of the finest documents ever written, charged King George III with what may well be described as dereliction of duty. Even though the British Parliament was a source of much of the discord brought against the colonies, it was the king whom the colonists blamed, and from whom separation was sought.
Thomas Jefferson and those who composed the final draft of the Declaration of Independence wanted to be respectful of the king, but blunt about the reasons for the dissolution of the relationship. The declaration's first paragraph noted that "a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation."
While President Barack Obama is not a monarch, it is evident that some of his policies of the past two and a half years have ignored the will of the governed. Whether it is legislation like "Obamacare," a health care reform initiative that was fast-tracked, fraught with errors, and highly unpopular with the people, the bailout of General Motors that shoved aside established bankruptcy processes and provided favorable treatment for the unions, or the appointment of czars that were neither advised upon nor consented to by the Senate, discord has been sown among the American people because the president has seemingly ignored them.
These are not personal attacks against Obama; they address his policies and actions. Regardless of your political persuasion, the November 2010 election was a referendum on our president and the direction in which he was leading our country.
In fairness, however, the dissatisfaction with the direction of our leaders can't be laid solely at the door of the Obama White House. Jefferson wrote that it was "a long train of abuses and usurpations" that led to the colonies reaching the point where it was necessary to "to throw off such Government." Likewise, it was the same "long train of abuses and usurpations" by Republican and Democrat administrations, Congress and unelected bureaucrats that has led to the growing revolt seen among Americans in the past few years.
Jefferson included the fact that the patriots had "warned (British officials) from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over (the colonists)." Furthermore, he wrote that the colonists had "Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: (but) Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury." In essence, the protests and petitions had not only fallen on deaf ears, but also resulted in more of the same.
So has it been in America for at least the past 20 years. Ever since President George H. W. Bush broke his "no new taxes" pledge, it seems that distrust of our elected officials has accelerated.
Neither presidents nor Congress have been responsible in their stewardship of our money for decades. Now, though, the people have greater access to information regarding federal spending and can also easily track the ballooning federal debt to see the ravenous spending appetite we're being asked continuously to feed.
In an 1825 letter, Jefferson wrote that "the object of the Declaration of Independence (was) ... to place before mankind the common sense of the subject, in terms so plain and firm as to command their assent ... it was intended to be an expression of the American mind, and to give to that expression the proper tone and spirit called for by the occasion."
We are now embroiled in a battle over the raising of our federal debt limit. I believe it is simply "common sense," "plain," and "an expression of the American mind" on this occasion not to allow the debt limit to increase in the short term, unless trillions of dollars of spending reductions and a planned debt reduction accompany the agreement.
Discord over issues such taxation, tariffs, trials by jury, dissolution of governing bodies and mandatory quartering of troops pushed the colonists to the tipping point. When the men sent as representatives from each colony gathered in Philadelphia, it was not to decide on separation from the British monarch, it was to draft the document that would declare that separation.
The Declaration of Independence, one of the finest documents ever written, charged King George III with what may well be described as dereliction of duty. Even though the British Parliament was a source of much of the discord brought against the colonies, it was the king whom the colonists blamed, and from whom separation was sought.
Thomas Jefferson and those who composed the final draft of the Declaration of Independence wanted to be respectful of the king, but blunt about the reasons for the dissolution of the relationship. The declaration's first paragraph noted that "a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation."
While President Barack Obama is not a monarch, it is evident that some of his policies of the past two and a half years have ignored the will of the governed. Whether it is legislation like "Obamacare," a health care reform initiative that was fast-tracked, fraught with errors, and highly unpopular with the people, the bailout of General Motors that shoved aside established bankruptcy processes and provided favorable treatment for the unions, or the appointment of czars that were neither advised upon nor consented to by the Senate, discord has been sown among the American people because the president has seemingly ignored them.
In fairness, however, the dissatisfaction with the direction of our leaders can't be laid solely at the door of the Obama White House. Jefferson wrote that it was "a long train of abuses and usurpations" that led to the colonies reaching the point where it was necessary to "to throw off such Government." Likewise, it was the same "long train of abuses and usurpations" by Republican and Democrat administrations, Congress and unelected bureaucrats that has led to the growing revolt seen among Americans in the past few years.
Jefferson included the fact that the patriots had "warned (British officials) from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over (the colonists)." Furthermore, he wrote that the colonists had "Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: (but) Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury." In essence, the protests and petitions had not only fallen on deaf ears, but also resulted in more of the same.
So has it been in America for at least the past 20 years. Ever since President George H. W. Bush broke his "no new taxes" pledge, it seems that distrust of our elected officials has accelerated.
Neither presidents nor Congress have been responsible in their stewardship of our money for decades. Now, though, the people have greater access to information regarding federal spending and can also easily track the ballooning federal debt to see the ravenous spending appetite we're being asked continuously to feed.
In an 1825 letter, Jefferson wrote that "the object of the Declaration of Independence (was) ... to place before mankind the common sense of the subject, in terms so plain and firm as to command their assent ... it was intended to be an expression of the American mind, and to give to that expression the proper tone and spirit called for by the occasion."
We are now embroiled in a battle over the raising of our federal debt limit. I believe it is simply "common sense," "plain," and "an expression of the American mind" on this occasion not to allow the debt limit to increase in the short term, unless trillions of dollars of spending reductions and a planned debt reduction accompany the agreement.
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