Now, let's talk history. The Declaration of Independence, being one of the founding documents of the United States, is held in high esteem on these shores as a message of freedom from tyranny, combatting taxation without representation, and a declaration of war against our erstwhile parent state. That said, the DoI cannot be repealed or negated by any act less than directly and abjectly becoming subjects under the British crown. Even then, technically the DoI as far as in legal force has never existed, and the wars which it began have been considered resolved as of the end of the War of 1812. You know. 200 years ago.
Remember, the constitution guarantees no such thing as "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness," or any such thing in so broad terms. It guarantees specific rights and freedoms to citizens of this nation. None of which are corporate. None of which guarantee that international oversight will never be necessary. This is of course not to mention that the DoI was written at a time when the concept of our current global economy wasn't even a blip on the radar.
And even if the Declaration of Independence were a legal document, I think most of you right wing nutters would be even more unhappy. Life as a right? Well, there goes the death penalty you're so fond of. Liberty? Can't have prisons can we? Pursuit of Happiness? I guess rape and murder and various horrible things (like *gasp* gay marriage) would be ok as long as it would make you happy.
Aren't we all glad for what the Declaration was? It was a declaration of independence from Great Britain. That's it. Perhaps you remember reading about a war regarding that document. Yes, the phrasing was beautifully Lockeian, and it was powerfully written, but its still just a declaration of war with no legal precedent setting power.
And while we're at it, what the hell is with the tea party crap? Do you even understand what the boston tea party was about? Do you understand what kinds of injustice it was a response to? Unrepresented taxation and a willingness to turn on the people violently with tyrannical force. This was not an elected government like we have today. Legitimately and legally put in place by the people. Pretending these two situations are even comparable is not just a mockery of our history, but a descent of this country into a gross self parody. Let's close with an Image comparison:
This, is the Boston Tea Party:
This, is how you guys look by comparison:
Any Questions?
I just got done explaining to someone that yes, we do not have a direct democracy, otherwise you would spend all day every day voting on things. So, you elect representatives to vote for you. It is in no way undemocratic, unconstitutional or tyrranical for those representatives to vote in a way you don't approve of.
ReplyDeleteIt might be very frustrating (welcome to the last 8 years of my life), but it's quite democratic.
As Jon Stewart said:
ReplyDelete"See now you're in the minority. It's supposed to taste like a shit taco. And by the way, if I remember correctly when a disagreement was expressed about that President's actions when ya'll were in power I believe the response was "Why do you hate America?". "Watch what you say." "Love it or leave it." "Suck on my truck nuts.""