Like King George III
Rereading the Declaration of Independence on July 4, we were reminded just how far we have strayed from the Founding Fathers’ familiar vision of a nation in which “all men are created equal,” and where all are “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,” including the right to “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
Less familiar are some of the Declaration’s specific complaints against King George III. He obstructed “Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither,” the Founders wrote. He “sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.” He also “excited domestic insurrections amongst us.” These and other acts were marked by “circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.”
Jefferson, Franklin, and their colleagues would be horrified by Donald Trump’s repetition today of the very offenses with which they charged King George. We should be horrified, too.