Another Independence Day Means Another Opportunity to Reflect
With the events going on in modern politics, it is sometimes difficult to take a step back and remember what led up to American Revolution, and we must from time to time reflect on whether we would have sacrificed everything to defy the British Empire, if we had lived back then. Of course, the monarchy under King George III was unjust and tyrannical, but with the system of safety and security providing a stable way of living, would you have betrayed the British government to bring about freedom for future generations?
Think about this in terms of today. We know that the federal government taxes most of our income to the tune of ten percent to half of all of the money that we make (which is our property), and we have absolutely no way to change this. Yes, we are legally represented by self-serving politicians who would sell away all of our rights to keep power and status in Washington, D.C., but they do not care about our interests, nor do they have an interest in altering the tax structure so that we can keep more of our property. In fact, if anything, they would actually prefer to increase our taxes in order to send money to pet projects, like perhaps to a foreign “ally” or a corporation, but any radical change in taxation status would be detrimental to the status quo and the system that benefits them. Yeah, they say that they care, and they might occasionally bring some spare change back home to our districts or send some generic and automatic email response arguing that the party is fighting on our behalf (if you can even get that), but really their interests lie with lining the pockets of the wealthy and voting for what works best for the system that has been created.
Politicians rarely, if ever, read any of the bills that they pass, and they spend their time campaigning and trying to negotiate back-room deals in order to not anger the wealthy establishment in the capital city. It does not matter if these politicians go into their roles with the best of intentions because they will become exhausted trying to fight against the powers that be and will almost certainly cave to the interests of lobbying groups, senior legislators, the president, either the Republican or Democratic Party, the corporations that fund campaigns, and any other interests that fight to keep the system going the way that it is.
Additionally, omnibus bills ensure that hundreds of unrelated projects get lumped together into a single bill so that there is no chance that these things need to pass on their own merit. Any item can be quickly added, and the legislators can simply put their stamp of approval on these generalized bills without knowing what they are voting for (“you need to pass the bill so that you can see what is in it” mentality). Do you want to get your million-dollar grant for researching an endangered lizard in the Amazon or experiment on putting surveillance devices inside of every newly-manufactured vehicle to test for impaired driving, but you do not want the American people to be informed about what is up for a vote and prefer that those projects smoothly sail through Congress without debate? Well, we have just the thing. Get it buried within the text of thousands of pages of a bill, and you will not have to worry about it, and if anyone votes down the bill, we will ruin those politicians’ reputation and say that they hate the troops or that they are unpatriotic or hate democracy, or some other smear.
Of course, under our current system, it is near impossible to argue that the average American is genuinely represented. It is more like a “virtual representation,” not unlike what British Prime Minister George Grenville argued under the system of King George III. It was argued that Parliament had the right to vote on behalf of those who had no say because members ensured that all subjugated people had their interests met, not just those in their districts. Just like today, the “system” allows certain representatives to join the elites’ club, but it does not permit the disruption of the status quo. Regardless of whether Americans approve of the hundreds of thousands of issues that politicians vote on in Congress, we just need to shut up and obey whatever they decide because it is argued that the momentum in the federal legislature is always working for the best interests of the people, even when it is not. Who sits in those chairs is of little consequence. What matters is preserving the system as a whole, and even as representatives rotate in and out, nothing ever changes.
Once bills with hundreds of unrelated items simply pass the congressional step, they move onto the president’s bureaucracy to be implemented with rules that members of Congress could never have even imagined. Do you want to regulate a new product in the market, but you do not want to have a new law passed? No worries, just invoke some environmental statute from thirty or fifty years ago, and you can create a brand-new law and affect the industry of every American company in the present without needing to convince a majority of legislators that your legislation (or executivation?) is necessary. After all, instead of calling it a law, we will simply refer to it as a new regulation or rule.
Still, even knowing that casting our ballot for politicians is a mere ceremonial act that results in no change whatsoever, we continue to believe that we can have our voices heard in this “democracy” that we share. We do not want to anger the powers that be, and we would rather “go along to get along” and not “stir the pot.” This is exactly what Thomas Jefferson referred to in the Declaration of Independence when he said, “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.” In other words, people are inclined to permit governments to act in manners that are detrimental or abusive so that they do not cause conflict or resentment, risk prison time, or drastically alter their lifestyles. Governments condition us to accept what they are doing as normal and safe, and through propaganda, they convince us that to challenge these things would be unpatriotic or result in chaos and an end to “democracy.” Because we believe that it is hopeless to change anything, we do not, and every few years, the powers that be bring about some new savior, such as Barack Obama or Donald Trump, to aspire us to put away our “childish” way of thinking and once again believe in the benevolence of our establishment. Yet, most of us deep down know that something is wrong and that we are being manipulated by forces that we cannot see, but we cannot bear to overthrow the system because of fear of the consequences or fear that we will be judged as radical terrorists. It is deemed hopeless to eliminate the power of the American Empire and its unstoppable military might and technology.
This scenario that I have painted for you is not indifferent from what our founding fathers experienced in seceding from the most powerful empire at that time. During the events of the Stamp Act, the Boston Massacre, and the Boston Tea Party and the subsequent Intolerable Acts (Coercive Acts), most of the population found themselves content with being British citizens, and yeah, paying a few taxes or seeing British troops in the streets may have been an inconvenience, but it did not affect the majority of people all that much. The British government provided stability and security, and outside of a few instances where King George III thought it necessary to impose taxes to pay for the French and Indian War and other imperial operations, the colonists were largely left alone to govern their own affairs.
As more and more taxes were imposed, more people became opposed to the enforcement mechanism, the dissolution of the colonial legislatures, the quartering and amassing of troops, and the denial of trial by jury; but leading up to 1776, independence was an unpopular idea, as many, such as Pennsylvania delegate to the Second Continental Congress John Dickinson, still believed that it was possible to reconcile differences with the Crown. If some members of the political body that met to discuss British atrocities opposed independence and preferred a sort of autonomous status within the British Empire, it was certainly not a common idea on the streets with the average person, but as Samuel Adams once opined, “It does not take a majority to prevail... but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brushfires of freedom in the minds of men.”
Just like today, many people were not engrossed in politics, and many preferred to live their lives without disrupting the political system or bringing about the “chaos” that rebelling against the security of the British Empire would bring. Even as the Declaration of Independence brought about a sort of national unity, there were also many Tories (or Loyalists) who remained faithful to King George III throughout the American Revolution, and several others simply wanted nothing to do with either side. We take for granted that the British imposed on the colonists’ rights, the citizens rebelled, and a war was fought to secure these ideas; but it was far more complicated, and certainly our founding fathers did not wake up on the morning of July 4, 1776 and decide, all in unison, that they wanted to become a new nation. It was a gradual process, and many disagreed with how it should be done. Compromises were implemented, and those who rebelled were considered traitors to the British government. Yet, at the end of the day, it worked out.
Similarly to how our modern politicians are more concerned with upholding the current system of government run by the elites and sneaking provisions past unsuspecting Americans, the British government passed laws, without the consent of the people, to keep the colonists in check and force them to comply with the “law and order” (sound familiar?) established by King George III. Just as taxes were imposed on the colonists without any meaningful representation in Parliament, today, we are taxed into oblivion by politicians who claim to represent us but do not do so in any meaningful way. We do not choose how much we are taxed and where our taxpayer dollars go (our property is stolen from us before we even see our paychecks). I oppose almost every expenditure in the federal budget, but do I have any recourse for my opposition besides to write a letter to my representative that will more than likely go unanswered (I have never received anything back besides automatically-generated responses that mean absolutely nothing)?
Just like the British troops and officials issued writs of assistance to search colonists’ residences and businesses for smuggled goods or items that evaded taxes, the post-9-11 world has allowed the intelligence apparatus to conduct surveillance on Americans without specific warrants, and we sit back and let them spy without making much more than a peep. Even British officials did not have the technology to monitor every individual’s movements, social media posts, and activities, and they had to rely on sending soldiers into people’s homes and shops (the equivalent of modern-day police raids). Agencies such as the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and National Security Agency (NSA) have become far more intrusive than anything that King George III could have imagined, and yet, we allow these abuses of government.
Our current system is designed to give the illusion of a republic while the system represents the interests of select wealthy individuals, and our so-called representatives carry out the agendas of corporations, lobbying groups, and political elites. Meanwhile, Americans continue to lose their rights, get poorer, and become more restricted in what they can and cannot do. Instead of us uniting against the powers that be, these elites keep us divided and bickering amongst ourselves. When Barack Obama or Joe Biden are in office, the Republicans oppose what the government is doing, and when George W. Bush or Donald Trump assume the presidency, Democrats get outraged about events. However, the real enemy comes from those who would manipulate the American people as a whole, and these forces utilize both political parties as tools to do the bidding of the rich and powerful.
Even as the United States is no longer a free country, we have the historical context and political fire among patriots to change course, so instead of getting distracted and complacent by the fact that Donald Trump is in office, perhaps we need to rekindle that American spirit. Now could be as good of a time as any since liberals and progressives are angry and could be ready to form an alliance for the common cause of demanding change. Happy Independence Day!
Thank you for reading, and please check out my book, The Global Bully, and website.