[Grovenet] E-Card from Hoss

[Ron D'Eau Claire]

There's also a lesson about becoming isolated and unaware in the making and
signing the Declaration of Independence. Back on July 4, 1776, the King of
England made a simple notation in his diary: "Nothing of importance happened
today."

Of course he had no knowledge of the signatures being affixed to that paper
across the Atlantic from London or where that act of defiance might lead.
That's my point. We may think we have our finger on the "pulse of events"
but even in today's instantly-connected, totally-aware world of
communications, we seldom really know what's going on that might be
important or what it means, until much, much later. 

Ron D'Eau Claire 



-----Original Message-----
From: grovenet-bounces at rdrop.com [mailto:grovenet-bounces at rdrop.com] On
Behalf Of David Morelli
Sent: Wednesday, July 04, 2007 10:28 PM
To: Forest Grove local interests list
Subject: Re: [Grovenet] E-Card from Hoss



On Jul 4, 2007, at 2:00 PM, allnutt wrote:

> I always like to read the Declaration of Independence in the
> newspaper on July 4th.  It is amazing what those folks did after  
> they landed in this country with their bags and baggage.
...


The copy in the Times indicated that it was abridged, which makes  
sense, but it left out the list of indictments that prompted the  
movement for independence.

If we were to reread the Declaration with an eye to the injustices  
dumped upon the colonies, perhaps we could understand what is must  
have been like to be on the receiving end of that list.

The king had to agree to laws passed in the colonies, and they could  
not be operational without his approval.

The king's representatives could dictate the timing and location of  
sessions and dissolve colonial legislatures that failed to follow the  
king's policies.

The king restricted settlement on the undeveloped lands to the West  
and limited immigration and naturalization of foreigners in the  
colonies.

The king made judges dependent upon his favor for jobs and pay.

The king expanded the numbers of tax collectors.

The king maintained a British army in the colonies during times of  
peace.

The king made the military independent of and superior to the civil  
authorities.

The king claimed the right to write laws in England to be binding  
upon the colonies.

The king required the colonies to house and provision English troops.

British soldiers accused of killing colonists were tried in England  
rather than in the colonies.

The king embargoed foreign trade.

The king allowed colonists to be tried by military courts rather than  
jury trials in civilian courts.

The king removed patriots from the colonies to be tried in England  
for treason.

The king allowed French law in Quebec to be applied to the  
territories claimed by the colonies North of the Ohio river.

The king replaced elected positions with appointed positions and took  
control over local judges.

The king suspended local governments.

The king declared the colonies in revolt after the Lexington, Concord  
and Breed's Hill battles.

The king's ships attacked ships engaged in free trade and bombarded  
coastal ports.

The king hired foreign mercenaries to populated his army.

The king impressed colonial sailors into the British navy.

The king offered freedom to slaves willing to support him and support  
to native populations who would fight for him on the frontier against  
colonists.

If we can appreciate how these acts by the king of England and the  
British Parliament were received in the colonies, perhaps we can see  
the importance of the Bill of Rights to our Founding Fathers.   And  
to the extent that the current Administration is acting in parallel  
with King George, perhaps we can understand the perception of  
American actions at home and in foreign lands.

Issues like firing federal prosecutors because they don't support the  
political agenda of the administration, arresting and holding  
American residents without charge or counsel, signing statements that  
overrule the legislative intent of federal laws, etc.

American soldiers accused of killing civilians are not tried by local  
courts, people accused of crimes in Afghanistan are taken to  
Guantanamo for internment, trial by jury is replaced by military  
tribunals, Paul Brenner dictated the makeup of the civilian  
government in Iraq, and the use of private contractors in military  
positions in Iraq.

We have a great country in part because we had a great Constitution  
with a Bill of Rights.  Those who would abolish that rule of law, are  
wrong.

David
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