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5 July 2010
4th of July Edition
(art by Norman Rockwell)
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Independence Day
On 2 July 1776, a congress of 13 colonies, proclaimed that they were no longer part of Great Britain (Britain, while getting the memo, didn't agree, leading to what we called The War of Independence; the Super Power British called it the You Have Got To Be Kidding Me annoyance). Two days later, a document (written mostly by Thomas Jefferson) was signed, declaring that the colonists were no longer going to be shoved around by King George III (America wouldn't be shoved around by a monarchy again until the election of 2010). Fifty-Six men signed the Declaration of Independence (aka "If this doesn't work, we're all dead"). Those men were:
This "Declaration of Independence" did not mean we were ready to party like it was the 4th of July. Tens of thousands of colonists remained loyal to the crown of England. Thousands more could go either way (today, these folks are called "independents," "moderates" or "erratics"). Those who wanted Independence were made up mostly of Christians, but there was also a sprinkling of deists and agnostics. Some of the states wanted to abolish slavery while others weren't so inclined. And every one of the signers was a white guy, something that Keith Olberman and Jeremiah Wright will never get over. But it wasn't all white guys fighting in the War of Independence, let alone just white guys with money. If you wanted independence, the size of your purse didn't matter. You took up your guns, joined with your fellow patriots, and fought. Black men and native Indians also took up arms and fought on both the British and Colonialist side. Britain didn't want a war with the colonies as it was busy fighting in Europe, especially France. The French would fight with the colonists on sea and land and it was a large French compliment of troops that helped George Washington and his men defeat General Charles Cornwallis at Yorktown, Virginia.
(art by C B Falls)
The Constitution Our Constitution is something virtually all elected, appointed, and many government employees (police and military, for example) take an oath to uphold. This oath is worded pretty much like this: "I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God." Law officers often add, "On my honor, I will never betray my badge, my integrity, my character, or the public trust. I will always have the courage to hold myself and others accountable for our actions. I will always uphold the constitution my community and the agency I serve." So, there you have it. If you take this oath, you should possess two things: 1) honesty and a willingness to keep your word (the oath) 2) an understanding of the Constitution you're swearing to uphold. If you don't like the Constitution as written, I'd like to think you had the integrity to not swear to uphold it. It's a free country, after all. On the other hand, if you do swear to uphold what it says, then I really don't want to hear things like this, "Right now China, the government, can disconnect parts of its Internet in case of war and we need to have that here too." (Senator Joe Lieberman, CNN, 20 June 2010) Say it ain't so, Joe. First, it's impossible to ignore the "in case of war" clause since China is not at war with its own citizens and yet polices the internet use of its people with brutal censorship. Then there's that nagging First Amendment that gives our citizens the freedom of speech and assembly; the internet allows Americans to do both in cyberspace. Another example: You shouldn't need the Supreme Court to tell you that all of the Amendments are still in affect -- the Second Amendment comes to mind. But as I write this, the Chicago City Council and Mayor Richard Daley still don't want to obey the Constitution and plan to pretty much ignore the Supreme Court's ruling overturning Chicago's gun ban (to understand why this was only a 5-4 ruling and not unanimous, see 1 and 2 above). How well has Chicago served its citizens by denying them their Second Amendment Rights? "Good riddance to gun ban that wasn't working," says Richard Roeper (Chicago Sun-Times, 29 June 2010) "Let's be real here. With the handgun ban in effect, three were killed and more than two dozen were shot in Chicago last weekend. The weekend prior to that, some 60 people were shot, and 10 were killed. I don't think the bad guys are waiting around for the courts to rule so they can go out and legally purchase weapons." Thomas Jefferson knew early on that some folks would fudge the Constitution. He wrote, "On every question of construction, let us carry ourselves back to the time when the Constitution was adopted, recollect the spirit manifested in the debates, and instead of trying what meaning may be squeezed out of the text, or invented against it, conform to the probable one in which it was passed." (letter to Judge William Johnson, 12 June 1823). Has your city or state elected someone who swore to uphold the Constitution, but doesn't? Perhaps they need another job. You can help them with that job search starting this November. Thomas J. Clement
(art by J C Leyendecker)
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(art by Joe Watson Little, The American Weekly, 1 July 1945)
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