A Declaration of Dependence

Courtesy of The Gunny Sack from AIM/NCOM

---A DECLARATION OF DEPENDENCE:

We, the undersigned, having grown weary of the burden of freedom and responsibility, do hereby foreswear, forfeit, and waive our following rights:

1) Our right to protect our physical persons. We pay the government -- and quite well -- to do this for us, through the police, the military, and far too many other government agencies to count. We have chosen to disregard numerous court decisions that they have no responsibilities to us individually, and still place our fate entirely in their hands. And when they fail us, we will blame our excessive freedoms and surrender more rights in the name of physical safety.

2) Our right to tally and pay our own taxes. We have chosen to separate ourselves from the cost of our government by delegating to government and employers the task of paying our taxes, through "withholding." Instead of being presented with a bill for payment, our taxes are taken from us before we even see our salary. Then, when (as is often the case) we have overpaid, we rejoice and see as a gift our refund, and choose not to realize that this refund is simply the government repaying an interest-free loan from us. The only real burden we choose to accept is that of filing our own returns, when we can see just how much of our labors are on behalf of the government. (And if one Presidential candidate has his way, he will relieve us of even this onerous task.)

3) Our right to make decisions for our own safety. Every one of us knows -- or ought to know -- that certain things are safe and unsafe, healthy and unhealthy. Trans fats are terrible for our bodies. Seatbelts, in nearly every circumstance, improve our chances of surviving a car crash almost logarithmically. Motorcycle helmets, even more so.

In these and in countless other ways, we know what the smart thing to do is. But we do not wish to be burdened with the responsibility of caring for ourselves, so we call upon the government to make certain we make the right choices, and accept whatever punishment, fine, or sanction they see fit if we put ourselves at risk.
In the name of our own safety, our own security, and our own peace of mind, we, the undersigned, do hereby pledge our lives, our fortunes, our liberty, our judgment, and our own common sense. Signed, Far Too Many Americans.
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This sort of apathy FEEDS the daily erosion of our Constitution and Bill of Rights, perpetrated by those we elect to make our laws. It’s time to STOP the process and look to our welfare. If we don’t, this nation will collapse on itself, and we’ll have no one to blame but ourselves. Our Constitution is under attack by those who think these documents are outdated. In Europe, whole countries have lost some of their national identities through the European Parliament, a NON-elected group. Those countries don’t even have their own currency anymore. They all use the “EURO.” No more British pounds or German Marks. We are likewise losing our freedoms here almost daily, a little piece at a time, and usually in the name of SECURITY.

I didn’t even mention the evils of the Patriot Act, or the lives we are sacrificing in corporate warfare all over the planet that seems to have no end. I can’t believe that this country, with all it’s strength and wisdom, can’t devise strategy to win these conflicts and get this carnage brought to an end, or to have won WITHOUT bullets in the first place, if and when winning is in the interests of the American People.