Anything sound familiar?
IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America
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....
The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world....
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them....
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries....
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
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For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
Over two centuries ago, colonial America reacted to the abuses of their leaders in the most drastic and violent way open to them, by taking up arms against their oppressors. Revolution is not to be taken lightly, and wasn't by those men and women. Perhaps recognizing within themselves the potential to create a grand experiment that would alter world history, or perhaps just fed up with the status quo, they acted.
And out of their actions was built something indescribably profound. A simple piece of paper that recognized both the strengthens and the foibles of human beings, that allowed the best of what's in us to flourish, while providing a stop against the natural tendency of those in power to abuse their rule. The philosophy of these men and women when approaching governance was best summed up by John Adams:
"There is danger from all men. The only maxim of a free government ought to be to trust no man living with power to endanger the public liberty."
The shred of paper that grew out of the experience of colonization, oppression, violence and revolution has proven remarkably durable over these 219 years. It's weathered foreign war, civil war, four presidential assassinations, two presidential impeachments, and many a misguided Congress. It's also been supported by some extraordinarily brave men and women who served in that body and who elevated it.
In response to the revelations that a president had violated the 4th amendments stricture against "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures," the first branch of government stood up to that president, led by Senator Frank Church:
Personal privacy is protected because it is essential to liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Our Constitution checks the power of Government for purposes of protecting the rights of individuals, in order that all our citizens may live in a free and decent society. Unlike totalitarian states, we do not believe that any government has a monopoly on truth.
When government infringes those right instead of nurturing and protecting them, the injury spreads far beyond the particular citizens targeted to untold numbers of other Americans who may be intimidated...
The natural tendency of government is toward abuse of power. Men entrusted with power, even those aware of its dangers, tend, particularly when pressured, to slight liberty.
Our constitutional system guards against this tendency. It establishes many different checks upon power. It is those wise restraints which keep men free. In the field of intelligence those restraints have too often been ignored....
The United States must not adopt the tactics of the enemy. Means are important, as ends. Crisis makes it tempting to ignore the wise restraints that make men free. But each time we do so, each time the means we use are wrong, our inner strength, the strength which makes us free, is lessened.
And thus the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, the sole and exclusive means by which the government could conduct surveillance against Americans, was born. How ironic that the major battle against what is undoubtedly the worst and most dangerous executive this nation has ever seen would be over this, and that this Congress would so abjectly fail this test their forebearers set. They try to dangle in front of us the shiny object of a "new" law that has been in effect for thirty years as some great achievement, hoping that we won't notice that with their other hand, they are vastly expanding the president's power to ignore the 4th Amendment of that remarkable piece of paper.
The most important political office is that of private citizen.
-Louis D. Brandeis
Don't let them get away with it. This terrible law will almost certainly pass, but don't let it happen quietly. And don't let them think they got away with their ruse. Celebrate your 4th of July by finding your nearest Senator. Remind them that they work for you. Remind them that their oath of office admonishes them not to "support and defend my next election campaign," but says "support and defend the Constitution."
While you are doing so, give thanks to an incredible Patriot, Christy Hardin Smith, who has marshalled her vast organizing skills for a campaign to make doing your job as a private citizen easier. Click on this link to take action.
