The
Declaration of Independence of July 4, 1776, is one of the greatest documents
human history has produced. The more one reads it, the more meaningful, more
insightful it becomes. Another aspect is its way of asserting certain things
negatively. That is what I am interested in presenting here. Let us see whether
the Declaration substantiates this sort of reading between the lines.
The
first para of the Declaration states that when a People separate (or dissolve
the Political Bands which have connected them with another) from other People,
it is necessary to declare the causes which impel them to the Separation.
The
second para asserts that there are self-evident Truths, such as i) all Men are
created equal; ii) they are endowed by their Creator certain unalienable
Rights; iii) among these Rights are Life, Liberty
and the Pursuit of Happiness. Then, it concludes that Governments are
instituted among Men just to secure these Rights. The Governments derive their
just Powers from the Consent of the Governed. When any form of Government
becomes destructive of these Ends, People do have the Right to alter or abolish
it. It is also their Right to institute a new Government as to them shall seem
most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
The
same para makes it clear that Governments should not be changed for light and
transient Causes. But, if a Government reduces its People under absolute
Despotism or absolute Tyranny, it is both the Right and Duty of the People to
throw off such a Government.
As
to what could be the causes which impel the Separation, it can be formulated
now that Men have certain Rights; it is the only purpose of any Government to secure
these Rights; and, if it fails in doing so, it must be overthrown.
Here
we can ask what is absolute Despotism or absolute Tyranny. It is evident from
the above that any form of Government may be termed as Despotic or Tyrannical
that commits repeated Injuries and Usurpations as regards the unalienable
Rights either of its own People or another People with whom it has Political
Bands. As a result, any such Government loses its just Powers to rule (which it
has derived from the Consent of the Governed) its own People or another People.
Now
we may safely surmise that the causes other than the stated above are light and
transient. They are not sufficient to impel a Separation from the Government of
another People or throwing-off a Government of the same People. Hence, it may
not be out of place here to put forward another conclusion, also: that, any
Government be it of another People or of the same People makes no difference;
what makes the difference is that how far a Government is successful in
securing the unalienable Rights to its individual citizens.
After
that, the Declaration submits the particular ways (or the Facts) in which
repeated Injuries and Usurpations were, or can be, committed by one People (Great Britain )
to another People (the thirteen states of America ). They are18 in number but
inestimable in importance; and include from the ordinary such as calling
together Legislative Bodies at Places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from
the Depository of their public Records to the extra-ordinary such as forcing
People to relinquish their Right of Representation in the Legislature.
Giving
due importance to the Men under a Government, the Declaration describes the
warnings given from time to time to British Brethren of the attempts by their
Legislature to extend an unwarrantable Jurisdiction over another People. But
they too, like their Government, were deaf to the Voice of Justice and
Consanguinity. This gesture on the part of the Declaration suggests that the
Men under a Government are equally responsible for the repeated Injuries and
Usurpations their Government commits against them or against another People
over whom it rules.
The
Declaration has made recourse to two terms that need special attention: People
and Men. Apart from other uses, the term People has been used to mean a
collection of men and women with a distinct identity which appears to give them
the status of a State or a Country, such as Great Britain , thirteen states of America . The
Declaration introduces the other term, Men, where/when it has to describe the
self-evident Truths. As these Truths are about the individual persons, men and
women, so the term People has been replaced here by Men; meaning that Men
(individual persons) form People, not vice verse. The argument to this effect
is: That to secure these (unalienable) Rights, Governments are instituted among
Men; and that the People, the Government, or other things are not Ends; they
are only Means to the Ends, the Men. The Men, the individual persons are
Ends-in-themselves.
From
this reading of the Declaration, following points may be derived:
1. ‘Political
Bands connect one People with another’ means governing the people; it may be a
governing of the same people, too.
2. The
Political Bands may be dissolved. Men have the right to overthrow a government
of another people as well as of their own people.
3. There
must be causes which impel one People to separate from another. The same causes
may impel a people to dissolve the Political Bands with their own government,
too.
4. If
these causes do not exist, no Separation or dissolution of the Political Bands
will be needed. There may be other light and transient Causes but they do not
dictate change of a government.
5. The
causes sufficient for a Separation or the dissolution of the Political Bands become
manifest when any form of government usurps the unalienable Rights of the Men.
No matter, it is the government of the same People or the government of another
People.
6. The
sole purpose of instituting a Government is to secure the unalienable Rights to
individual citizens; so, who governs and whom it governs is immaterial.
7. It
means the differences of State, Government, Race, Color, Culture, Religion,
Ideology, Truth, History, Tradition, Language, Dialect, Class, Status, Manners,
Dress, etc., are but light and transient causes.
8. Freedom
movements, wars, etc., in the name of State, Government, Race, Color, Culture,
Religion, Ideology, Truth, History, Tradition, Language, Dialect, Class,
Status, Manners, Dress, etc., are misleading. They all ultimately lead to absolute
Despotism or absolute Tyranny.
9. A
freedom movement or war which does not culminate in the institution of a
government securing the unalienable Rights to its individual citizens is a
Tyranny in disguise.
10.
What is supreme are Man or Individual and his unalienable Rights. As duties
presuppose rights, it is his Right to protect his Life and Liberty; and, it is the
duty of the Government or the State to protect his Life and Liberty so that he
could pursue his Happiness in whatever way he likes.
11.
Also that if there establishes a despotic or tyrannical government of the same
People or over another People, the onus is upon the individual persons, men and
women, of both People. British Brethren were equally responsible for the
British Tyranny over the states of America.
12.
That leads us to the conclusion that any form of government or state is ultimately
unable to protect the life and liberty of its citizens unless they themselves are
prepared to protect their own lives and liberties.
In
a nutshell, America ’s
Declaration of Independence did not declare the independence of America ’s thirteen
states only; it is a Declaration for all the individual persons to assert their
independence and to rise up for securing their unalienable Rights: the Rights
to Life, Liberty
and Pursuit of Happiness.
[This
article was completed on March 31, 2002.]
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