Liberty Maven

In 1776, the Declaration of Independence was read in three spots in Pennsylvania following the Fourth of July. One spot was Easton’s historic Center Square. 233 years later, a small band of patriots show up once more.

by Jake Towne, the Champion of the Constitution
Originally published July 2, 2009 at http://www.nolanchart.com/article6584.html

On Friday, July 3rd at 7 PM, the Lehigh Valley Tea Party organization is holding a rally in Easton’s historic Center Square.  See this LINK for details.  The Declaration of Indepedence will be read followed by a series of speeches by invited speakers.  I am delighted to be speaking at such an historic event, and I urge you to stop by if you are in the area.

From the group’s website:

“…We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness…”

These powerful words again have such relevance again today.

But over the past two centuries, the ideal of individual rights has all but disappeared from public discourse. In its absence has emerged today’s massive regulatory-welfare state, which taxes away nearly half our income, tells us what medicines we can take, what kind of light bulbs to buy, and is rapidly consolidating control over America’s banks, insurance companies, and industrial giants like General Motors.”

Today’s Tea* Parties are proudly named after the Boston Tea Party of 1773. Like our revolutionary ancestors, we are protesting against growing government power, a government that increasingly oppresses its citizens instead of protecting them. We share our Founding Fathers’ view, which first reached its full expression in 1776 with the Declaration of Independence, that the role of government is to protect individual rights–to protect the sovereign individual’s right to life, liberty, property, and the pursuit of happiness.

* TEA = Taxed Enough Already

Even if you will not be in the area, I urge you to read the Declaration of Independence.  It was the work of a small group of patriots that had had enough, that were determined to secede from the tyranny of England at the cost of their lives.  In the following years, signers of the Declaration were hounded and physically tortured – who knows? perhaps even water-boarded.  Their properties were raided and razed to the ground, their families uprooted from their lives. (Portrait by Jean-Baptiste Greuze)

But they all stuck together for, as Pennsylvanian Ben Franklin said just before signing:

“We must, indeed, all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately.”

Perhaps the question to ask yourself this weekend is would YOU have signed the Declaration knowing the British Empire wanted you dead, that you had only your family, friends, and countrymen to back you?

I would have signed it in a heartbeat.

Yours faithfully,

Jake Towne, the Champion of the Constitution

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Summary of Articles and Bibliography for Jake Towne, the Champion of the Constitution (7/2/2009)