Celebrating Our 250th Anniversary with a Revolt

We are celebrating America’s 250th anniversary this year.  It is a great time to remember the vision of our founding fathers by revisiting the Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, our Constitution, and subsequent amendments.  It was a time when a King was making decisions for our ancestors without representation. At the time, England was operating under the Magna Carta, as a monarchy with a people’s parliament.  Though initially a feudal agreement, the Magna Carta’s core ideas were— due process, the rule of law, and the right to a fair trial. The rights guaranteed to England’s people were more limited in the colonies.  King George was more focused on the economic value of the colonies than concern for their rights.  Representation was limited, taxes were significant, and trade was highly regulated.

Now let us compare our current government to that of 1776.  Consider reading the Declaration of Independence and note our ancestors’ grievances—dissolution of legislative bodies, obstruction of justice, imposition of a standing army, transportation to England for trial, interference with trade, forbidding governors from passing laws.   Do they sound familiar?   President Trump has eliminated or hampered government bodies, ignored many judicial orders, created an army through the ICE initiative, deported immigrants without due process, established tariffs on trade, and interfered in state government.  It is also instructive to read the Articles of Confederation.  This plan was developed by the founding fathers in attempt to gain rights that those in England already had, through a union of thirteen independent states.  The Articles of Confederation were soon found to be lacking in providing for a unified central government.  Therefore, a constitutional convention was convened and a constitution was created.  However, the Constitution, as originally drafted, did not satisfy those who wanted to ensure the people’s rights.  So, they developed ten amendments to guarantee those rights.

Today, much of the work forged by our ancestors has been challenged by Donald Trump.  His actions are diminishing the rights guaranteed in those historic documents.  President Trump has expanded executive power far beyond the limits defined by our founding fathers.  Personal loyalty to Donald Trump is more important than adhering to our constitutional and legal norms. This is no different than King George!  Donald Trump’s actions are designed to support his economic and social agendas, not what “We the People” want (Polling averages indicate that approximately 2/3 of Americans do not support Trump’s initiatives).  I have previously written about Trump’s campaign promises– Make America Great.  His statements were like many campaigns promises over the past decades.  They were nothing but hollow promises to gain political support.  The political campaign worked and MAGA became a reality built on those hollow statements.

Americans today are no different than those in 1776.  We are being denied the rights that our ancestors fought and died for.  As we celebrate our independence from King George’s reign, Americans need to recommit to the promise of the American Revolution.  We need to hold our elected representatives responsible to the visions of our founding fathers and the documents that they wrote.  Midterm elections are upon us.  Use your vote to bring about a change in Congress!  America needs a Congress that supports the America that was dreamed of in 1776, not a modern-day King George.