Dependence to Worse Master Day
July 4th marks the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, by which its thirteen american colonies formally seceded from the British Crown. While I'm all for secession, and have a lot of sympathy for the main author of the document, Thomas Jefferson, the sad thing is that this declaration was mostly using lies and distortions to justify a war that had already begun, unfairly accusing one side of various crimes to prop up the other side. Of course, that other side ended being much worse in every single way. If the declaration had actually been defending freedom and justice, it would have asserted rights without resorting to lies... but then, it wouldn't have supported the new regime setup by the colonist upper class.
The lies and distortions have already been properly denounced by Hutchinson in his Strictures upon the Declaration of the Congress at Philadelphia. That the new regime was worse than the old one is clearly apparent: Tens of thousands of otherwise innocent people perished in this war. Tens of thousands of loyalist "Tories" saw their fortunes confiscated and had to run for their lives, when they were not plainly murdered. So much for popular representation — I suppose you're only "people" if the powers that be like you. Counterfeited money instruments were circulated, money was inflated, debt was issued and not paid in full, to pay for this expensive violence, turning each formerly free man into an indentured servant for the new master, and their unborn children, too.
Soon enough, the new regime imposed more taxes than did the old regime, at higher rates; despite the claim that the "revolution" happened against those taxes and rates. These taxes were soon enough imposed upon people who had no representation in voting them, despite the claim that the new regime rejected "taxation without representation"; and the new president himself led troops against those who objected to these taxes, proving the hypocrisy of the entire so-called revolution. The rights of natives were more systematically trampled upon by the colonists, now no longer thwarted by British rulers less directly interested in stealing land, with hundreds of thousands of victims.
As long term results of this violence for secession in the name of Liberty, slavery was prolonged for many decades; it would end only after a million people died, the principle of secession was denied, and formerly "free" people were made slaves to a central State much worse than any modern king's reign. Did all those killings make any contribution to Liberty? Not at all. Inhabitants from the secessionist colonies were not freer than before; nor were they freer than those of Canada or any nearby territory that remained under control of the British Crown. The war contributed to death, to violence, and to reduction in Liberty on all sides.
Liars. Robbers. Counterfeiters. Perjurers. Slavers. Mass murderers. Land thieves. The american rebels didn't do a "revolution", just a mass criminal usurpation of power.
Liberty grows with peace, prosperity and education. Violent wars and "revolutions" only promote oppression, poverty and partisan propaganda. War is the Health of the State; it is the Great Destroyer of everything free. Don't promote violent "solutions" or celebrate violent events. Promote peaceful solutions and celebrate reduction in violence.
