File:British-soldiers-plundering.png; Author:Pouazity3; Lic.:CC BY-SA 4.0
Last week, we read selections from the main body of our Declaration of Independence. Many of those words and phrases are familiar to us. We see and hear them often in arts and media, on national monuments, or even in modern political speeches. But did you know that the Declaration of Independence by its bulk, is a list of complaints and grievances against the British Crown? Our founding fathers very carefully listed the reasons why they felt justified in separating from England. “Let facts be submitted to a candid world,” they said!
I’d like to take you through a summary of that list now. I think you’ll agree that we face many similar complaints and circumstances in our fight against an ever-growing federal bureaucracy.
King George III obstructed local government and refused to recognize laws passed by colonial legislatures. He blocked appointment of local officials and dissolved representative bodies. He denied fair trials both by shielding his own officials and by sending colonists to England for trial. He allowed standing armies in the colonies, oppressing the people. He cut off colonial trade and economic freedom with other parts of the world. He incited violence against the colonies, encouraging Indian attacks and even allowing naval bombing of colonial towns. Added to all these grievances, the King repeatedly dismissed colonial requests to correct these attacks upon their rights as British citizens.
One of my favorite lines declares that the King “has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.” Well, if that doesn’t depict the IRS and a few other federal agencies, I don’t know what does.
I hope today that we dearly value the Rule of Law just as steadfastly as the founders. And may we be as clear in our fight against tyranny, lawfare, and big government! In the words of the Declaration, “A Prince (or judge, or bureaucrat), whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.”
This post originally appeared at https://phyllisschlafly.com/national-sovereignty/grievances-against-tyranny/
Phyllis Schlafly