BuzzFlash
presents Southern Style
by Rebecca Knight
July 4, 2002
Independence!
by Rebecca Knight
"The flames kindled on the Fourth of July, 1776, have spread over too much of the globe to be extinguished by the feeble engines of despotism; on the contrary, they will consume these engines and all who work them."
--Thomas Jefferson
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"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."
The United States Declaration of Independence – July 4, 1776
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Today we celebrate the moment at which the greatest nation on earth was born. When we reflect upon current or past trials and tribulations we should always put them in the context of that moment, for never in the history of mankind has there been a greater demonstration of courage and conviction toward the principled belief in freedom.
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"The last hope of human liberty in this world rests on us. We ought, for so dear a stake, to sacrifice every attachment and every enmity."
--Thomas Jefferson
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By the middle of the eighteenth century, differences in life, thought, and economic interests had formed between the colonists and England. The British government tried to regulate colonial commerce in British interest, which was rooted in the need to recover from the debt incurred during the French and Indian War. The solution was to station large portions of the army in Ireland and America and require local economic support for the troops in each location.
The trouble was that members of Parliament were not themselves affected by taxes laid on the colonists. In fact, they and their associates stood to benefit from increased colonial taxation because it would reduce the tax burden in England. In the ensuing debate, neither side would budge.
The British government decided the best solution would be to tax imports. At considerable loss to themselves, merchants in one port after another agreed not to import British goods. The Boston Tea Party was the beginning of the end. All of England was outraged. In willfully destroying valuable private property the Americans had gone too far. Parliament responded in March 1774 by closing the port of Boston to all trade and attempted to restrict Massachusetts' government, hoping to isolate Massachusetts and show by example the fate that awaited other colonies that carried resistance too far.
Instead, the colonies interpreted Massachusetts' fate as the doom that awaited them all if they failed to resist. In September 1774 the First Continental Congress met in Philadelphia to protest and to organize a new non-importation movement. The Congress' main purpose was to declare the colonies' rights and to enforce the non-importation agreement, but soon it became the form of a government. Tax revenues were diverted from the official treasury to the Congress. Fearing reprisals, it urged the town militias to make themselves ready and provided for the collection of arms.
Massachusetts' Governor Gage, a mild man who hoped to calm the aroused colonists, saw a revolutionary government forming before his eyes. He tolerated many of the resolves issuing from the Provincial Congress; he could not tolerate the organization of a military force. When he heard that a cache of arms had been stored at Concord twenty-one miles from Boston, he felt obligated to send troops to destroy it. On the evening of April 18 the troops embarked from Boston Common to cross the Charles River to Cambridge. At Lexington in the early morning hours they encountered a small, confused band of militiamen and shots were fired. A few miles farther at Concord, militia from the surrounding towns put up more resistance. Seeing they were outnumbered, the British began their retreat under heavy fire. The Revolution had begun.
The second Continental Congress met in May 1775. In June, the Continental Congress created a committee of five members to draft a statement of independence. Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston comprised the committee charged with drafting the Declaration, but the task fell to Jefferson, as he was considered the most eloquent writer. The Declaration of Independence claimed that if a government was tyrannical, the people had a right to overthrow it. It included a long list of the ways the British king had oppressed the colonists. And finally it concluded that because of the king's oppressive acts, the colonies had the right to declare themselves free and independent states.
On July 4, 1776, the Second Continental Congress met in the Pennsylvania State House (now Independence Hall) and approved the Declaration of Independence. Church bells rang out over Philadelphia on July 4, 1776....signaling that the Declaration of Independence was approved and officially adopted by the Continental Congress.
Two days earlier the Congress had voted in favor of Richard Henry Lee's motion to declare the freedom and independence of the thirteen American colonies from England. The Declaration was written to influence public opinion and gain support both among the new states and abroad. It served as a source of authority for the Bill of Rights and the Constitution.
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"If we find our government in all its branches rushing headlong... into the arms of monarchy, if we find them violating our dearest rights, the trial by jury, the freedom of the press, the freedom of opinion, civil or religious, or opening on our peace of mind or personal safety the sluices of terrorism, if we see them raising standing armies, when the absence of all other danger points to these as the sole objects on which they are to be employed, then indeed let us withdraw and call the nation to its tents. But while our functionaries are wise, and honest, and vigilant, let us move compactly under their guidance, and we have nothing to fear. Things may here and there go a little wrong. It is not in their power to prevent it. But all will be right in the end, though not perhaps by the shortest means."
--Thomas Jefferson
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In America, the most important political ideas are written down, proclaimed to the world. Americans can refer to those ideas as they try to understand themselves and their country. The single most important political idea in America is the idea of equality, proclaimed in the Declaration of Independence. The preamble establishes that all men have rights, that the government is established to secure those rights, and if and when government becomes a hindrance to those rights, it should be abolished or ties to it broken. It notes that people would accept some amount of suffering rather than take this extreme step, but that such tolerance is not unlimited.
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"It is part of the American character to consider nothing as desperate, to surmount every difficulty by resolution and contrivance."
--Thomas Jefferson
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As we celebrate the birth of our nation and honor our freedoms, we must guard against the zealousness of nationalism. Both the nationalist and the patriot profess their love of America through use of the usual patriotic symbols like the pledge, the flag, and songs. However, there is a vast difference between nationalism and patriotism.
Patriotism is the love of America's history, founding fathers, documents, and laws. It is also a deeply seeded belief that the standards they represent will carry our citizens through the most difficult of times. Patriots have an abiding affection for America and are relaxed in their convictions. A patriot will loyally defend his country even while admitting there are times when it is wrong.
Nationalism is grounded in admiring America for being strong, not for being American. In this attitude resentment and rivalry are fermented. Enemies and traitors are imagined. In that sense, nationalism has a negative connotation and represents a rigidity that can prove to be detrimental for the future of America. The nationalist defends his country because he believes it is always right, which is an impossibility.
These are differences that can divide Americans, even though both nationalist and patriot are unaware of this division. The patriot has a deep love of country that allows for a satisfaction with contentment at home and the ability to value peaceful negotiation and compromise. The patriot wants his country to be strong enough to defend itself, but not be the aggressor. The nationalist cannot understand a lack of radical zeal in the patriot. During times of war the patriot becomes more like the nationalist in wanting to protect his country. The nationalist not only wants to protect his country, but also sees war as an opportunity to spread American ideals around the world. This is the dilemma America currently faces.
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"We... owe it to mankind as well as to ourselves to restrain wrong by resistance and to defeat those calculations of which justice is not the basis."
--Thomas Jefferson
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We must always remember that in the United States when an immigrant takes the oath of citizenship or when an elected official takes the oath of office they swear to uphold the Constitution of the United States of America. They do not swear to uphold the flag, the president, or a political ideology. Flag waving nationalism disguised as patriotism leads to racial, religious, gender, and political intolerance. This type of intolerance leads to encroachment on our civil liberties and the silencing of political dissent, all in the name of patriotism.
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"It is better to correct error while new and before it becomes inveterate by habit and custom."
--Thomas Jefferson
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Current world and national events call for America's citizens to determine where our interests lie on balance, what would be just and fair for all. However, our leaders seem to imply that we must decide what mixture of security and personal freedom we want for ourselves. While most of us will not be affected by the restraints on civil liberties as they currently exist, we should remember that fairness requires equal concern. When one person is denied rights that we treat as essential for others, we are acting unfairly. If we believe that some people are more deserving of loss of liberties and equal protection under the law, we must admit that what we do to them is unjust. For that reason our leaders are wrong to expect anyone to give up personal freedoms in the name of security.
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"How long we can hold our ground, I do not know. We are not incorruptible; on the contrary, corruption is making sensible though silent progress."
--Thomas Jefferson
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Is it possible we are currently facing struggles in America similar to those our forefathers faced through British control in the late 1700s? In the sense that the Bush administration has taken actions to curtail our civil liberties, it is entirely possible. The Republican tendency to tax the working class while giving tax relief to the wealthy and large corporations is also a similarity.
The Bush administration can be perceived as overbearing in that their policy decisions and legislative actions imply that they know more than the people about what is best. How easily they forget that the government is "the people" and not the leaders. They should reawaken themselves to the concept that our governmental system is based upon the leaders being our representatives and not dictators. When they threaten our individual rights and freedoms, they are weakening the original intent of the very documents on which our nation was founded. What will the response of the American masses be? History proves that the people, when pushed to their limits, have the strength of character to rise up and rebel.
On this Independence Day we must celebrate not only what we have at this moment, but what our Forefathers risked for the establishment of our sacred America. We must also, from this day forward, vow to work towards the restoration of all our individual liberties. This will, indeed, be a challenge, but the rewards will be a much stronger, more just, and more moral America, as our Declaration of Independence intended it to be.
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The
Declaration of Independence:
http://www.archives.gov/exhibit_hall/charters_of_freedom/
declaration/declaration_transcription.html
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Rebecca Knight is a native Tennessean, who grew up in Nashville, and currently resides in a small town near Nashville. Ms. Knight's political awareness evolved through the civil rights movement, the Vietnam era, the Watergate era, and the cold war. The debacle of the 2000 election increased her sense of responsibility for political activism. You may contact Rebecca Knight via e-mail at tennessee_gal655@yahoo.com.
© 2002 by Rebecca Knight
