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What Independence? What Freedom?
by
Mumia Abu-Jamal | 07.08.2007
Over 40 years ago, when the Black Panther Party was born, Huey P. Newton borrowed the words from the opening paragraphs of the Declaration to state the right of all people to rebel against repressive governments. Today, Americans mouth the words, or stuff them in the heads of unwitting children, while freedoms become more scarce than buffaloes, or bald eagles. What Independence? What Freedom? [col.writ. 7/1/07] ( c) '07 Mumia Abu-Jamal As Americans take days off, to barbecue, to visit relatives, to sit back on the sofa and watch the tube, the 4th of July weekend actually washes over them, its actual meaning and significance lost to many. The date notes the 1776 adoption of the Declaration of Independence, the formal statement of separation between the British crown and the British colonies to North America. The Declaration actually reads like an indictment against King George III, his ministers and his military. It is a document which alleges violations of rights, traditions, and customs by the British king, and declares: " To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid World." It is, in a sense, certainly a radical document, for it represented the rejection of, and the separation from, the strongest kingdom in the world at that time. What made it revolutionary is that it demonstrated resistance to an idea that, in principle, ruled large parts of the earth (that of royalty). Does it make the slightest bit of sense that the descendants of those radicals now head a virtual world war against 'radicalism?' The document, while radical, also had its share of hypocrisy, which some of the men there apparently recognized, as they voted down the section charging the king with encouraging and fostering what Thomas Jefferson called "an execrable commerce" --slavery. But it's interesting to note some of the charges which remained, such as: He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone..... Towards the end of this document, the signers declare, " A Prince, whose Character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the Ruler of a free People." Reading those charges from 231 years ago, makes on think sore of the present George in power, rather than a British monarch. For, as the Declaration itself notes, in its opening lines, "...Whenever any form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it....." Over 40 years ago, when the Black Panther Party was born, Huey P. Newton borrowed the words from the opening paragraphs of the Declaration to state the right of all people to rebel against repressive governments. Today, Americans mouth the words, or stuff them in the heads of unwitting children, while freedoms become more scarce than buffaloes, or bald eagles. The state has passed bogus laws that annihilate the rights allegedly 'guaranteed' by the Constitution. Like the Patriot Act, and the Military Commissions Act, and many more. The President wages war on a whim and a pretense. One wonders how Iraqis feel, reading translations of the American Declaration, reading about 'quartering large Bodies of Armed Troops' among them. In an hour when rage at immigrants is almost at a boiling point, how many folks know that almost 15% of the guys who signed the Declaration were born in other countries, like Scotland, Ireland, or Wales? How free is the average American when NAFTA sends his job away, or when the cost of education rises beyond reach of even the middle classes? How free is this average American when the President can, by himself, sign away national and economic sovereignty under so-called 'fast-track' authority? Many members of Congress signed the Patriot Act without even reading it, so full were they of fear. Over 2 1/2 million men, women and juveniles are en caged within U.S. prisons, with many more to come. How free is this country? If you can afford it, pretty much. But if you're not wealthy, you're at the mercy of the elites. Happy 4th. --(c) '07 maj [Mr. Jamal's recent book features a chapter on the "When a cause comes along and you know in your bones that it is MUMIA'S COLUMNS NEED TO BE PUBLISHED AS BROADLY The campaign to kill Mumia is in full swing and we need you to Keep updated by reading ACTION ALERTS!! To download Mp3's of Mumia's commentaries visit The Power of Truth is Final -- Free Mumia! PLEASE CONTACT: Send our brotha some LOVE and LIGHT at: WE WHO BELIEVE IN FREEDOM CAN *NOT* REST!! Submitted by: Sis. Marpessa Subscribe: mumiacolumns-subscribe@topica.com
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