Celebrating the Fourth of July in the Blogosphere
(Flag courtesy of the Tax Law Forum via photobucket)
First, thanks to A Man Among Mommies for copying the entire text of the Declaration of Independence which is must-reading in any year, let alone an election year. I give you only the intro here:
In CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,
When in the course of human Events, it becomes necessary for one People to dissolve the Political Bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the Powers of the Earth, the separate and equal Station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent Respect to the Opinions of Mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the Separation.
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 whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these Ends, it is in the
Continue reading here. And check out Blawg Review for a moving video on the writing of the Declaration (mentioning the original denunciation of the slave trade contained in the first draft).
If you'd like to know why you have the day off from work today, take a look at Inflexion Advisor's July fourth post here.
The Pensacola Beach Blog celebrates the Fourth of July by warning us about the perils of the proposed FISA Act here. (hint: our Constitutional Rights are once again at stake)
The Law Librarian Blog has recommended reading for the Fourth ('natch)
Rebooting Democracy: Ideas for Redesigning American Democracy for the Internet Age, an anthology of 44 relatively short essays, was released at Rebooting the System, the fifth annual conference sponsored by the Personal Democracy Forum.
Blogging the Boys celebrates the fourth with a short gratitude list to former civilizations (and some still chugging ahead) for our liberties (with a photo of a type never seen here that will warm the hearts of my male readers).
Comparative Quotes on Tyranny (Quotabull) at Scholars and Rogues.
The Blog of Rights celebrates by giving us the ACLU's definition of patriotism:
Patriotism doesn’t mean blindly following the will of a few. It means being part of an informed and involved citizenry. It means exercising dissent by speaking out when you don’t believe in what is happening. It means being constantly vigilant in the protection of civil liberties, and holding government officials accountable when they take aim at our freedoms. And above all, patriotism means loving this country so much that we will fight to protect the things that make it great for generations to come.
Underdog weighs in on the Continuing Struggle for Civil Liberties here.
By now, the United States government thrives on control backed by force, the threat of force, and punishment, not only through military might, but also through an overgrown and overbearing criminal "justice" system of police, laws, money, prosecutors, courts, and prisons; an overgrown national security system that leaves us little privacy, security, or sufficient liberty; and an overgrown spying and "intelligence" system.
Fortunately, a strong movement continues in favor of civil liberties and government by the governed rather than the reverse. The movement is led by the American Civil Liberties Union, fearless and skilled criminal defense and Constitutional lawyers, the drug legalization movement, and the list goes on.
July 4 is meaningless without an ongoing struggle for civil liberties. Now is the time to join that struggle.
Even on a National holiday, one legal blogger is still thinking about the 46.6 Million Reasons to Think about Settlement (the Ohio Employers' Law blog).
And finally, the "out of the box" thinking we've come to expect from Conflict Zen -- the Declaration of Interdependence video.
HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY TO ALL MY READERS AND THEIR READERS AND THEIR READERS' READERS!!
Whatever our political disputes, we Americans make the effort to be guided by the values of Jefferson's Declaration.
