The War in Iraq: Revisiting the Declaration of Independence

And so begins the Declaration of Independence. The 'cry' used by the founding fathers of these United States as justification for establishing a nation independent from Great Britain. Now, it has prevailed upon us to question our current 'Form of Government', and to investigate whether or not it has become 'destructive of these ends'. 'These ends' being those unalienable Rights we were all endowed with-Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness-that we have entrusted to our government with the expectation of our safety. Is America 'safe'? Are Americans, in general, 'happy'?

With Capitalism as an economic policy and a 'democratic' foreign policy, America holds the world in the palms of its hands. But within those hands are the crushed and lifeless bodies of countless American men, women, and children alienated by these very same governmental policies. In America alone, more than thirty million people are considered to be 'needy', or impoverished to such an extent that they must supplement their tables with food lines and soup kitchens manned by unpaid volunteers. This from a nation with a budget that could pay off the debts of every single one of its citizens.

But as 'Leaders of the Free World', the American government has failed, in general, the people it was supposed to protect. The world looks upon America with eyes of both care and concern. Some with care for the idea of 'freedom and democracy' that this country has espoused to defend and support. The concerned are those who fear what they believe this country has become: A wolf in sheep's clothing.

The founding fathers could not have ever imagined the monster their beloved country would become. A despotic force concerned with only preserving the wealth and status of its powerful minority. The pomp and fluff of the electoral process only serves to draw the people's attention away from the real results of every election: a powerless people. After all the voting is done, the governing officials revert to their previous states of incommunicado. The interior workings of Washington D.C. is again secreted away from public scrutiny as elected officials meet in closed sessions with their political donors.

The power structure of this country is organized in such as way as to prevent the ascension of the ordinary citizen to any office of true significance. Since it takes money, and lots of it to run an election campaign, the true part the average citizen plays in directing his country, year by year, is little to none.

While behind closed doors their 'representatives' implement laws they exempt themselves from, to rule deceitfully over those who have voted them into office. The public is given little to no consideration in the day to day operation of their government, which is as a matter of necessity, the majority of the time.

It has long been apparent to all Americans that the power of the people is all but nonexistent. We have the promised resolve of elected representatives to fix our problems, but what we receive are overseas occupations, wars of dubious nature and aim, pledges of 'aid' to the needy in other countries rather than for our own homeless and destitute, and the blessings of our 'allies'. But the people of America have no part or say in what our government does internationally, and the only time we actually get a 'voice' is when we vote. After which, those we vote into office become deaf.

Nor are we the people left with any recourse with which to punish the deceit of those who have intentionally misled us. So we are powerless in our efforts to effect change. With courts and judges belonging to this political party or that, and most being motivated for political or personal power instead of 'justice for all', there is little reason for them to want to change the status quo. So we are left completely unable to alter the course of our nation, and as a result, we have become the most feared of foreign nations and as its citizens, the most hated of world nationalities.

Let me qualify that statement, the world does not hate Americans; the world hates the American government. The world does not hate American prosperity; the world hates the American juggernaut that seeks to incorporate all independent and sovereign nations into participating partners in their economic goals. This country has become the monster in the closest, now hiding under the bed. The monster everyone knows is there, but is terrified to face.

The destruction of the Twin Towers represented not an attack on the American people, but an attack on American economic policies. The current attacks on Americans in Iraq are not an attack on the American principles of 'Liberty and Justice for all', but an attack on American foreign policy. The cavalier way in which our leaders go about implementing their policy has created a number of enemies for us. Our leaders have reaped the rewards of their policies while we the people suffer the consequences as Americans who have had nothing to do with the creation or implementation of those policies.

We the American people did not invade Iraq. Our government did. We the people did not supply Bin Laden with weapons or train him in his fight against Russia. Our government did. We the American people did not sit by while Saddam Hussein used biological weapons on his own people. Our government did. We the American people did not stand by while the Taliban established for itself an oppressive rule in Afghanistan. Our government did.

We the American People are not guilty of the policies of the American Government. But we are guilty of being 'disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right [our]selves by abolishing the forms to which [we] are accustomed.'

We are guilty of standing by and doing nothing while our government has robbed us of our right and our power to lead ourselves. We have become guilty of allowing our comfort and the maintenance of it to subvert the principles upon which this country was founded.

We the People fear for our 'national security', not because we the people have become a target of terrorists, but because our leadership has in pursuit of their own 'American Dream'. A dream that has become a nightmare for many eastern nations who see the U.S. as a 'devil' obsessed with the proliferation of 'democracy'. We, the American People are not due the international hostility that is aimed at our leadership, and as a result, our country.

But as it now stands, the world gathers to act in an effort to stop this runaway cart by any means necessary before it crushes another nation, and these efforts have begun to show themselves. We the People will be caught in a crossfire and end up as casualties in a process we have had no control over. Think about September 11th. Terrorists are not seeking out those who have caused them harm, but are attempting to make a statement in their effort to punish them. They have not stopped to count the innocents, nor will they. So we will count them ourselves.

The future has already begun for America and it is no mystery what that future holds. Now is the time for the American People to prepare for it. The means to end politicians deceiving the public through the antiquated electoral and 'representative' system is at our disposal. With internet access virtually within the reach of every American across these United States, potentially every American can now have a true say in the direction this country takes, and not just a vote on who will next take the helm.

Think about it.