The Declaration of Independence - How it applies
- 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. -
Words that were eloquently written by the founding fathers of our great nation 230 years ago. Words that we seldom reflect on for guidance. Words that do not seem to mean anything to our present governing bodies.
There were only 13 states when Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence. Indeed, the United States had not yet been born, and as such, the Declaration of Independence is to be regarded as the foundation of the United States of America. In essence, the passage above simply states "The truth is all men are equal, and have the same God given rights including the rights of Life, Freedom, and Happiness."
All men means mankind in its entirety, not merely a certain cross section of the population, all men is all inclusive. With that thought in mind, slavery should have ended with the signing of the Declaration of Independence, as slaves fit into the category of "All Men." Yet many people remained enslaved even after the writing and signing of the Declaration of Independence. Why was that, if the leaders of the United States of America thus proclaimed that everybody was equal? The answer is quite simple. Americans are know for a pompous arrogance that is so profound that it prevents us from reading items which we sign our name to. In short, everybody thought it was a good idea because it slapped King George in the face. No one took into account that the Declaration was actually Hanan's Gallows.
Many of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were slave owners. Even though the slave owners did everything in their power to keep their slaves ignorant to what was going on, there was still the probability of a few who were capable of understanding the written text. So, to prevent the enlightenment of the Declaration's power away from the slave - to keep Eve from the fruit tree -the slave owners simply did not reveal the contents of the Declaration of Independence to any of their slaves. This represents a great deception that has laid the foundation for what we are experiencing in our present existence.
Through hoodwinking a cross section of society, a certain people can assume a perceived superiority over another. It is as if to say "They are not aware of this information, so we have the upper hand", and it is the stalwart of such white supremacist groups as the Klu Klux Klan, Aryan Nation, and Skinheads. The problem, is that even though we have several learned scholars in the African American community, there is still a stubborn refusal on our part to hold the powers that be to the guidelines so established by the founding fathers.
On issues of racism, many of us have taken the approach of "Oh well, it's not going to make a difference anyway", and as a result it is not making a difference. The Declaration of Independence is a legal and binding document that can be used as the basis of mitigatory actions against those who seek to violate it. America has gone to war over our nation's right to be free, yet African Americans in our present day are afraid to stand up for the same right as guaranteed in the Declaration of Independence.
Anyone who fashions or displays a noose should be held accountable for violating the right of Liberty (freedom) of a particular cross section of America. See, we have an understanding of the Bill of Rights, or perhaps we don't. We allow the violators of the Declaration of Independence to do so under the cover of freedom of speech, yet we fail to hold them accountable to responsibility of speech. In other word, a racist who displays a noose says he is just expressing himself, and he is allowed to under freedom of speech; however, such an expression often fuels discontent that eventually leads to conflict. As such, before such an expression is made, the responsibility rested in weighing the consequences. Thus we fall back on the Declaration of Independence. The displaying of the noose is an expression that violated the liberty (freedom) of a particular cross section of the population. The person displaying the noose used free speech but was not responsible. The Truth is all men are created equal and have the same God given rights, so swift action against the person displaying the noose is required and should not be considered punishable.
The bottom line is a simple one; no portion of American society should be treated any differently from another. Shoot a white person and he bleeds the same as a black person who had been shot does. We have the same physical attributes, the same abilities, the same visions. In that regard, we are "All Men" and according to the Declaration of Independence, we are equal. We need to stop rolling over and allowing racism to plague our existence. It is time to take a stand.
This has been part one of what will be a series on race relations in the United States of America.
Words that were eloquently written by the founding fathers of our great nation 230 years ago. Words that we seldom reflect on for guidance. Words that do not seem to mean anything to our present governing bodies.
There were only 13 states when Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence. Indeed, the United States had not yet been born, and as such, the Declaration of Independence is to be regarded as the foundation of the United States of America. In essence, the passage above simply states "The truth is all men are equal, and have the same God given rights including the rights of Life, Freedom, and Happiness."
All men means mankind in its entirety, not merely a certain cross section of the population, all men is all inclusive. With that thought in mind, slavery should have ended with the signing of the Declaration of Independence, as slaves fit into the category of "All Men." Yet many people remained enslaved even after the writing and signing of the Declaration of Independence. Why was that, if the leaders of the United States of America thus proclaimed that everybody was equal? The answer is quite simple. Americans are know for a pompous arrogance that is so profound that it prevents us from reading items which we sign our name to. In short, everybody thought it was a good idea because it slapped King George in the face. No one took into account that the Declaration was actually Hanan's Gallows.
Many of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were slave owners. Even though the slave owners did everything in their power to keep their slaves ignorant to what was going on, there was still the probability of a few who were capable of understanding the written text. So, to prevent the enlightenment of the Declaration's power away from the slave - to keep Eve from the fruit tree -the slave owners simply did not reveal the contents of the Declaration of Independence to any of their slaves. This represents a great deception that has laid the foundation for what we are experiencing in our present existence.
Through hoodwinking a cross section of society, a certain people can assume a perceived superiority over another. It is as if to say "They are not aware of this information, so we have the upper hand", and it is the stalwart of such white supremacist groups as the Klu Klux Klan, Aryan Nation, and Skinheads. The problem, is that even though we have several learned scholars in the African American community, there is still a stubborn refusal on our part to hold the powers that be to the guidelines so established by the founding fathers.
On issues of racism, many of us have taken the approach of "Oh well, it's not going to make a difference anyway", and as a result it is not making a difference. The Declaration of Independence is a legal and binding document that can be used as the basis of mitigatory actions against those who seek to violate it. America has gone to war over our nation's right to be free, yet African Americans in our present day are afraid to stand up for the same right as guaranteed in the Declaration of Independence.
Anyone who fashions or displays a noose should be held accountable for violating the right of Liberty (freedom) of a particular cross section of America. See, we have an understanding of the Bill of Rights, or perhaps we don't. We allow the violators of the Declaration of Independence to do so under the cover of freedom of speech, yet we fail to hold them accountable to responsibility of speech. In other word, a racist who displays a noose says he is just expressing himself, and he is allowed to under freedom of speech; however, such an expression often fuels discontent that eventually leads to conflict. As such, before such an expression is made, the responsibility rested in weighing the consequences. Thus we fall back on the Declaration of Independence. The displaying of the noose is an expression that violated the liberty (freedom) of a particular cross section of the population. The person displaying the noose used free speech but was not responsible. The Truth is all men are created equal and have the same God given rights, so swift action against the person displaying the noose is required and should not be considered punishable.
The bottom line is a simple one; no portion of American society should be treated any differently from another. Shoot a white person and he bleeds the same as a black person who had been shot does. We have the same physical attributes, the same abilities, the same visions. In that regard, we are "All Men" and according to the Declaration of Independence, we are equal. We need to stop rolling over and allowing racism to plague our existence. It is time to take a stand.
This has been part one of what will be a series on race relations in the United States of America.
No comments:
Post a Comment