A while ago I wrote a petition of sorts. While the eventual goal is to disperse it such that a large portion of the populace might see it and actually sign it (via media outlets, blogs, and Lord only knows what else), it's not quite finished. It's no longer in the rough draft stages (smooth draft?) but it hasn't quite reached the Final Draft stage, and I thought that I could submit it to the ultimate fact checker: the online forum. Indeed, any factual or grammatical errors made on my part would, undoubtedly, be immediately discovered and covered in embarrassing detail - such is the majestic power of the internets. In other words, make a Diary of it and submit it to the (intelligent, cultured, and unquestionably good-looking) community here at the DailyKos.
A brief summary of what this is: the petition/declaration is a statement made by myself (and any future signers)that the Bush administration has abused their powers to such an extent that we are formally withdrawing our consent to be governed by them. In writing this I tried as best I could to channel the writing style of the Declaration of Independence and other works from the period of our Nations founding.
The other thing I tried to do was mirror the format of the Declaration, and it is here that I ran in to my biggest problem - the list of grievances. A long list it is not. I am without a doubt missing several things this administration has done that I could condense into the proper format, but they're just not coming to me. So this is where you, the reader, comes into play. If you have any ideas for things that should be included, don't hesitate to speak up! A bit of warning: I'm trying to make this something that lovers of liberty on both sides of the political isle would want to sign, so things like abortion probably won't be included.
And now, without further ado, the current draft:
In Defense of Liberty
"When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
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. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security."
– The Declaration of Independence; July 4, 1776.
We the people of the United States of America, in order to preserve the Constitution of the United States, do hereby revoke our consent to be governed by the administration of George Walker Bush. Rather than resort to rebellion, the birthright of every American Citizen, We find that the tree of Liberty, though damaged, is not beyond repair. The Tyrant in Washington believes that America can only be saved by destroying the Liberties upon which it is based; in order to protect the People from the fleeting shadows that exist in only his own delusional mind, the Tyrant believes he possesses the inherent power and authority to invade the private communications of the People, to deny them the Great Writ, and to make war on other Sovereign Nations upon whim alone. We the People reject this absurd notion, and do hereby call on him to cease and desist this mad charade forthwith, for Liberty cannot lie with Tyranny and hope to beget anything other than a vicious multitude of little tyrants. Lest history damn us for our inaction, We present to a candid world Facts to prove that the current President of the United States acts in a manner consistent with Tyrants and Dictators, that he might establish his word as Law and subjugate his own people.
He has sought the power to strip members of the public of their citizenship to the United States.
He has established secret prisons to hold those he has declared enemy combatants, and sought to deny them all means of legal recourse.
He has sanctioned the use of torture against those he has declared enemy combatants.
He has declared certain United States Citizens to be enemy combatants, in order to deny them liberty and due process, that he might imprison them indefinitely and, at his discretion, torture them in order to produce false confessions.
He has established a mercenary force outside the review of Congress.
He has invaded a Sovereign Nation without a formal declaration of war by the Congresses.
He has violated the 4th amendment of our Constitution by spying upon his own people without the issuing of judicial warrants.
He has violated the 6th amendment of our Constitution by denying those he has deemed enemy combatants the right to confront the witnesses against them.
And at every turn, he has carried these actions out by claiming that His word is Law.
At every turn We have Petitioned for the Redress of these grievances, only to be denied by the very members of the Congresses we elected to represent us. That we had so recently elected them, and that our grievances were so well know, it becomes increasing clear that the current President might have committed further offenses against us. This would-be King, being of similar character and disposition to the petty Tyrants of our Nations past, who abused the privilege of gathering intelligence to insure the security of the various States, has aroused our suspicions that he too abuses the authority delegated to them by our Forefathers in order to spy on their political enemies. We the People do hereby accuse the Tyrant in Washington of Using blackmail, extortion, and other foul means to pacify the Congresses into inaction. Having consistently shown that he is of untrustworthy character, the onus of proving innocence falls upon the Tyrant. Should he wish to dispute these accusations, he shall forthwith release all documentation obtained by his intelligence networks for inspection by the People.
The sacred Liberties upon which this nation was founded were not meant to be treated as playthings by this petty tyrant, to be tread upon roughshod and then cast aside. How supremely arrogant, how mendacious of this man to order the collection of the private communications of the citizenry, without proper judicial approval through the issuing of warrants, and to then seek, by means of his pet Congress, to stay the hand of Justice from smiting those who had carried out his unlawful and unconstitutional demands. These usurpations of our most basic rights cannot be allowed to go unanswered, for tyranny is a virulent and tenacious rot that is difficult to dislodge once it has taken root. Should this rot be allowed to remain, unmolested, it shall run rampant and the tree of Liberty shall wither and die, a victim of our own complacency and inaction.
The foundations of our nation were set in the concrete idea that all men were endowed with beautiful liberty, and that without such liberty tyranny would surely resurface. In as much that it can be said that silence begets consent, let it be known that We the People were not silent, and that, though we might still fail, we did seek to confront and deny Tyranny when it sought to gain purchase on American soil. To this continued defense of Sacred Liberty, and to safeguard against future Tyranny, We the People renew that pledge given so long ago: we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.
[Signatures]
Now, as I'm sure several of you noticed, there are a few quotes and lines lifted directly, or obviously paraphrased, from the original Declaration (take the last clause for example, "we mutually pledge...sacred Honor."). My question is, do I need to use quotes or source (which would pretty much destroy the flow of the petition, in my opinion) for these segments, even if the whole point of the essay is to mimic the style of that era?
My final thoughts on this: I wanted to create a clarion call to arms for the people of the United States, that they might see all the abuses done by the current administration in their name. The most important section of this petition is the list of grievances - I have a feeling that, with the staggering multitude of crimes committed we tend to miss the forest for the trees. We tend to focus on the latest abuse, and while the level of detail to which we investigate it is necessary if we are to fully understand it, we seem to get so caught up in the individual issues that we fail to take a step back and see the broader picture.
That's what I've sought to do here, and it is my greatest hope that I succeeded. On a side note - this is my first diary (yay me!). I apologize for any horrible abuses/mis-management of Tags that I have unknowingly committed.