Here on 249th birthday of the nation, recall the preamble to our declaration of independence.
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. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and 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. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.
The whole thing is a read and enumerates specific complaints, but the preamble is the core, the synopsis, the mission statement.
The original if you prefer
Based on this we built… on the second try… a system wherein we could abolish a government and get a new one on a regular cycle, for reasons dire as well as reasons light and transient.
Whether we will be able to continue to do so remains to be seen. The current administration and the Republican party are working hard to see that we shan’t. In the current era of daily outrage, where the president floods the zone with so much bad stuff that we can barely keep up, that sort of news doesn’t get a headline. Also, it such the norm for Republicans to engage in voter suppression that it is hardly news. But it is happening. The pieces are being put in place. If the Republicans have their way ICE, currently being used as a political secret police force by the administration, an weapon of terror and repression that has shown an eagerness to harass, assault, and arrest political opponents, will receive funding greater than that of the USMC so it can expand greatly and build camps to house all of its detainees… whether or not they are US citizens.
The plan is concentration camps across the US. No funding for additional judges to hear all the cases, just masked officers to scoop people up and camps to house them in. Due process does not enter into it. Neither do Christian values.
We shall see what happens in 2026 with the elections. Once an authoritarian has their own secret police force and system of gulags, it is hard to just stop at immigrants. Political opponents will be next.
The 250th birthday of the nation might mark its demise.