We have lost the original vision embodied in the Declaration of Independence, and stand in need of an update, keeping the original spirit but taking into account the identity of our own King George.
Draft of an Updated Declaration of Independence
The unanimous declaration of the people of the United States of America: When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for a people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with one another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the right to a full and equal voice in the affairs of government, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them on this course.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, as free as possible from the intrusions of government, –That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men and Women, 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, that 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 to the power of wealth and privilege, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. Such has been the patient sufferance of the people, and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter the direction of their Government if not the System itself. The history of the incumbent President is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having the direct object of establishing an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let the Facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good, through the profligate use of Signing Statements in which he has declared his opposition to laws passed by the Congress and his intent of allowing them to languish without enforcement.
He has forbidden his appointees and aides to testify before the Congress in response to subpoena, under the guise of “Executive privilege.”
He has cruelly neglected the health of a large part of the population, refusing to let Medicare officials negotiate with pharmaceutical companies so as to obtain the most favorable prices, and blocked the importation of less expensive drugs from Canada, and has endeavored to forestall change in the Health Care Delivery System by refusing to limit the power of Insurance Companies.
He has attempted to “privatize” the Social Security system and subject it to the uncertainty of financial markets, thus threatening the pensions of millions.
He has, in grievous disregard of qualifications, appointed people to office manifestly unsuited for their positions.
He has refused to adequately protect the harbors and the borders of the country from the incursions of both illegal immigrants and terrorists and the introduction of weapons of mass destruction in cargo containers.
He has obstructed the administration of Justice by appointing Judges with narrowly-defined Philosophies not suited to a large and diverse population, and made the appointment of Judges dependent on his “litmus tests” regarding their views on such matters as abortion, even through the matters seldom come up in their courts.
He has recklessly used allegations of Treason and Hating America and Siding With the Terrorists against those who might disagree with the direction and ethical conduct of policy in his Administration, no matter how honorable and devoted they might be, and has heaped scorn and ridicule on those who question his policies.
He has combined with others, in an International Monetary Fund, a World Bank, and a World Trade Organization, to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our Constitution.
He has refused to levy taxes to pay for the expenditures of the Government, including the War in Iraq, and has placed the nation in a state of fiscal peril.
He has unilaterally declared invalid the provisions of the Geneva Convention, has “rendered” those captured in combat to the custody of other nations known to engage in the practice of torture, there to be tortured, and has denied them the most basic of legal rights provided in the Constitution, requiring their trial in secret Military Tribunals.
He has authorized the surveillance of telephone and other forms of communication, and of library records, with no regard for the Constitutional rights of citizens and with no regard for the procedures call for in the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
He has sought to deny the protection of the Constitution to certain citizens based solely on their sexual preference and hs used so-called “wedge issues” in a scurrilous and concerted attempt to divide the nation and insure his re-election and that of others in his Party.
He has intentionally blurred the lines between Church and State, contrary to the intentions of the Founders, under the rubric of “faith-based initiatives” and criteria for the selection of Supreme Court judges.
He has engaged in or otherwise supported election manipulation and fraud in the 2000 and 2004 elections, insuring his election and re-election.
He has opened the White House to the influence of Lobbyists for all the major Industries and Economic Interests, in exchange for their financial support.
He has resorted to Secret Meetings with officials in the Private Sector to fashion energy policies, without disclosing the nature of the agreements reached or the persons involved.
He has adopted a policy of Pre-emptive War, seeking to control the nations of the world by an American Empire involving the militarization of space, the dispatch of mercenaries, and the permanent encampment of American forces around the world.
He has adopted the philosophy of “the Noble Lie” according to which the truth may be withheld from the people if, in the judgment of the Rulers, the people are better served by not knowing the truth and, like the residents of Plato’s Cave, glimpse only the Shadows of Reality.
He has instituted the events of 9-11 to institute a Reign of Terror in America, justifying any conceivable measure to protect the nation against all enemies, real or imagined.
In every stage of these Oppressions, we have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms, in Public Opinion Polls and letters to the Editor and Emails and Rallies throughout the land and on the Mall between the Capitol Building and the Lincoln memorial. Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury and stubborn repetition of discredited slogans and failed policies. A President whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant is unfit to be the ruler of a Free People.
We, therefore, the People of the United States of America, appealing to the conscience of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do solemnly publish and declare, That these United States and the People within are, and of right ought to be Free and Independent; that they are absolved from all Allegiance to the administration of George W. Bush, and that all connections between them and the Administration is and ought to be totally dissolved, and that as Free and Independent People, they have full power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent People may of right do.
And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.
