I have no fear that the result of our experiment will be that men may be trusted to govern themselves without a master.

--Thomas Jefferson

If this were a dictatorship, it'd be a heck of a lot easier, just so long as I'm the dictator.

--George W. Bush

America! America! God mend thine ev'ry flaw . . .

--"America, the Beautiful," lyrics by Katherine Lee Bates

Tears welled up in my eyes as I listened to the compelling refrain from "America the Beautiful" at a recent meeting. In my past life I probably would have tried to mask the heartfelt emotions evoked by the song. But on this day my feelings were already close to the surface. Our beloved two-year-old cat Rory, who grew from a frightened feral kitten to a model of compelling gentleness, boundless energy and lust for living, had just passed away.

Sometimes a loss like this opens you up to the things that really matter. And for the past few days, that's certainly been true for me. Out of my pain I had become much more conscious of a deep gratitude for my wife, partner and friend Shonnie; the compassionate support of my family and friends; the magnificent mountain city in which I live; and my love for this unique nation.

While surfing the Internet in this grateful mood over the Fourth of July weekend, I happened across a copy of the Declaration of Independence, the 228-year-old document that gave our nation its start. And as I re-read it for the first time in a while, I got in touch with the remarkable document it is:

"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."

During the American Revolution, approximately one-third of Americans, known as the loyalists or Tories, opposed independence from England. The men and women we now call patriots--Tom Paine, Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson and many others--were branded insurrectionists and traitors by George III, the king of England, and the loyalists in the American colonies. To speak out against the king was seditious and was dealt with harshly. Benjamin Franklin put it succinctly when he said, "We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately."

In post-9/11 America, there are those who consider anyone who questions the actions of our president as an enemy of our nation, some even suggesting that dissenters should find another place to live. How do you think these true believers, had they been alive at the time, would have regarded the Founding Fathers? After all, these rebels destroyed private property and refused to bow down to the king, a ruler who, some still believed, was selected by God Almighty.

Many in this land have come to discern some uncanny parallels between King George III and President George W. Bush. Our forefathers accused the king of levying unjust taxes to pay for his wars, and our current president, George Bush II, is accused of spending billions of dollars on a senseless war that we will pay for far into the future. George III, who claimed his word was law, and Bush II, who according to an August 2002 Justice Department memo, would like his to be.

George III "For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury," and Bush II for arresting and holding hundreds of foreign nationals in the U.S. since 9/11, charging only three with a terrorist crime.

George III for "transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to complete the Works of Death, Desolation, and Tyranny" and Bush II for the hiring of more than 15,000 mercenaries (i.e. contract security employees) for work in Iraq, some of whom served previously as apartheid-era assassins in South Africa.

The men and women of the Bush administration seem to think that only they know what's best for this nation and for the world. Moreover at least some of them believe that God has chosen them for this mission and, thus, that they're immune to dissent or criticism. And because of these fallacious, misguided beliefs, this band of arrogant zealots will do anything necessary to maintain power, including playing to our worst fears and our basest instincts.

The patriots who stood up for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness (and the women who stood with them) boldly asserted that "whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the People to alter or abolish it, and institute new Government . . ." And in putting these words into action, they risked their lives and their liberty. Who are we then not to do everything within our power to take America back on November 2, 2004?

Note: All quotations in this column not attributed to an author are taken from the text of the Declaration of Independence.

TAKE ACTION NOW

*
Volunteer to register voters at the Fine Arts Theater in Asheville, NC by sending an email to spreadthevote@yahoo.com.

*
Register to vote and encourage others to do so by visiting http://www.yourvotematters.org/.

* Join America Coming Together's voter mobilization effort by visiting http://actforvictory.org.