By Klaus Rohrich ——Bio and Archives--March 31, 2010
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“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. --That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, 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, than 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, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.” (Emphasis added)Less than a century after this nation was founded, the country became divided over the issue of slavery and the ensuing resolution of that issue resulted in the loss of more than one million lives, over 600,000 of which were young soldiers on both sides. Again, Americans resorted to violence in settling this dispute, even though the belligerents in this dispute were roughly divided into one-third pro-slavery and two-thirds abolitionists. The point of this column is not to encourage Americans to take up arms against one another, but to point out that Americans are historically prone to draw a line in the sand and respond with extreme intransigence when a situation becomes unacceptable to a large enough number. The current government, although elected by a majority of the people, is acting against the expressed will of the majority of the people and as such could engender violent dissent. This is a natural consequence of citizens feeling they are being marginalized and oppressed by the government, regardless of Mr. Boehner’s belief that it is “un-American”. For this reason it is important for President Obama and his minions in Congress to tread carefully, as continuing to impose onerous legislation that interferes with freedom and the pursuit of happiness will further polarize Americans. America’s system of government is based on the consent of those being governed. When the government loses that consent all bets are off and anything becomes possible. Remember, the Boston Tea Party was a preamble to the American Revolution. Had the British king taken note and listened to his subjects, America’s official currency might now be the Pound Sterling rather than the dollar. The current Tea Party movement, consisting of both Republicans and Democrats, holds that those elected to govern are not working in the peoples’ best interest. As such, a second American Revolution/Civil War is a definite possibility, as Americans are historically disinclined to knuckle under an oppressive government. The degree to which this becomes a possibility lies in part with the current government.
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Klaus Rohrich is senior columnist for Canada Free Press. Klaus also writes topical articles for numerous magazines. He has a regular column on RetirementHomes and is currently working on his first book dealing with the toxicity of liberalism. His work has been featured on the Drudge Report, Rush Limbaugh, Fox News, among others. He lives and works in a small town outside of Toronto.