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The more we uncover and discover about our history, the more it looks like we fought the British Army to free the oligarchy from British monarchy and theocratic rule under the influence of the Church of England. From this perspective, our ancestors traded rule from monarchy to rule from an oligarchy. Instead of suffering from British rule and paying taxes to England, we paid taxes to the American oligarchy and were ruled by them from the beginning, even before we became the United States of America.
Because of Independence Day last weekend, many articles have evolved on our current state of affairs as we celebrate our 245th birthday. Have we ever achieved independence, or was it just an idea that we are working towards as a society? Given that public health is at the center of the debates and the need to expand our vaccine program, accompanied by the meltdown of “patriots” across the country, this is still a hotly debated issue.
Old declaration of independence
In 1787, 11 years after the Declaration of Independence proclaimed that “all human beings are created equal,” the US Constitution was adopted. It begins with this preamble:
We, the people of the United States, to forge a more perfect union, create justice, maintain peace of mind, provide common defense, promote common welfare, and secure, ordinate and enjoy the blessings of freedom for ourselves and our descendants create this constitution for the United States of America.
Who is “we the people�
I’ve put this up for discussion on the ground and few people respond because they assume it’s pretty obvious – we’re all created equal. Unfortunately, that’s the white male version of equality. But if the past 50 years have taught us anything, nothing is as obvious as it seems, and we all know what happens when we make assumptions.
Democracy as a process
The first black federal judge, William H. Hastie, said in 1937: “Democracy is a process, not a static condition. It becomes rather than being. Much of the history of the United States reflects this ongoing process as individuals and groups have sought to encourage the country to better reflect the democratic ideals expressed in its founding documents .
It’s 2021. Do you think we have gained independence from our rulers / oppressors to become a democracy?
Activist for women’s suffrage Susan B. Anthony was a person who challenged the country to broaden its definition of who belongs. Unfortunately, she was arrested in November 1872 for voting in a federal election before women had the right to do so. Prior to her trial, she gave a speech entitled, “Is It a Crime for a Citizen of the United States to Vote?” In that speech, quoting the Preamble to the Constitution, she said:
It was us, the people, not us, the white male citizens, nor we, the male citizens; but we, all the people who made the Union. And we formed it not to give the blessings of freedom but to secure them; not for half of us and half of our descendants, but for the whole people – women and men. And it is downright mockery to speak to women about enjoying the blessings of freedom while being denied the use of the only means offered by this Democratic-Republican government.
White male landowners or taxpayers were the only citizens who could vote. What about one of the main authors of the statement, Thomas Jefferson:
Then there is the slavery clause in Jeffersons original draft of the declaration. King George, Jefferson said, “waged a cruel war on human nature itself, violated its most sacred rights to life and liberty on the person of a distant people who never offended him, captured them and moved them into slavery in another hemisphere brought or contracted “miserable death in their transport here.” This seems to be conclusive evidence that white Americans at the time were able to grasp the concept that slavery was evil. Hence, judging those who participated is not a “presenterism†in which we impose today’s moral standards on the past.
https://theintercept.com/2021/07/04/at-245-america-is-old-enough-to-be-honest-about-its-founding/
The US is an oligarchy
As I have written many times before, the US is an oligarchy. It has always been an oligarchy and we have been striving for independence since we broke away from the British colonies. Many people have pointed this out over the years. 1909, Emma Goldmann broke us down pretty well:
The history of the American kings of capital and authority is the history of repeated crime, injustice, oppression, indignation and abuse, all aimed at the suppression of individual freedoms and the exploitation of the people. A vast country rich enough to provide all its children with all possible comforts and well-being for all is in the hands of a few, while the nameless millions are unscrupulous wealth collectors, unscrupulous lawmakers, and corrupt politicians. The sturdy sons of America must roam the country in fruitless search for bread, and many of their daughters are driven into the streets while thousands of tender children are sacrificed daily on the altar of Mammon. The rule of these kings keeps humanity in slavery, perpetuates poverty and disease, perpetuates crime and corruption; it captivates the spirit of freedom, stifles the voice of justice, and humiliates and oppresses humanity. It is involved in constant war and carnage, ravaging the land and destroying the best and most beautiful qualities of man; it feeds superstition and ignorance, sows prejudice and strife, and turns the human family into a camp of Ishmaelites.
https://inthesetimes.com/article/emma-goldman-a-new-declaration-of-independence-socialism-july-4?
A new declaration of independence
Thomas Jefferson wrote the first Declaration of Independence, so I’m giving Emma Goldmann Due 133 years later when she writes:
We, freedom-loving men and women, therefore recognize the great injustice and brutality of this condition and hereby seriously and boldly declare that each individual is and should be free to own himself and to enjoy the full fruit of his labor; this man is stripped of all loyalty to the kings of authority and capital; that by his nature he has free access to the land and all means of production and has full freedom to dispose of the fruits of his efforts; that every individual has the indisputable and irreconcilable right to free and voluntary association with other equally sovereign individuals for economic, political, social and all other purposes, and that for this purpose man has the sanctity of property, respect for man-made right, the fear of the Church, the cowardice of public opinion, the stupid arrogance of national, racial, religious and sexual superiority and from the narrow puritan view of human life. And for the support of this declaration and in firm trust in the harmonious fusion of the social and individual inclinations of man, the freedom-lovers joyfully consecrate their uncompromising devotion, their energy and intelligence, their solidarity and their lives.
https://inthesetimes.com/article/emma-goldman-a-new-declaration-of-independence-socialism-july-4?
Emma, ​​the so-called radical, was gifted well before her time.
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