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Editorial: Some level of evil
Op-Ed · July 06, 2017
For several years, West Branch’s Rev. Richard Paulus has, from time to time, worn colonial gear to portray Samuel Adams and, on the Fourth of July, reads to crowds the Declaration of Independence, emphasizing key words and phrases that refresh this founding document’s importance and meaning.
There are only 1,337 words — about half the length of last week’s high school softball story — in the Declaration, but they carry sharp messages for today’s culture.
We’ve heard many folks, following Paulus’ rendition, remark how they have forgotten almost everything past the bit about unalienable rights, especially the specific list of criticisms against King George III. Some examples:
• “He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.” This is why the United States has Freedom Of Information Act and Government In The Sunshine laws.
• “He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.” This is why Supreme Court justices hold office for life.
• “He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.” This is why we have due process laws.
• “For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:” This is why, for example, West Branch’s Board of Education must bring its $19.8 million bond referendum to the voters for their approval prior to levying property taxes.
• “He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.” This is partially the reason why we have the Second Amendment.
Paulus leans heavily on “united” in his speech. The Declaration refers to the “united States of America” twice with a small “u.” At the time, it was merely an adjective to describe the 13 states which the signers represented. Five years later, in 1781, the Articles of Confederation made the capital “U” official.
Listen to how Paulus emphasizes the words in the most famous sentence of the Declaration to remind us that “all men” have rights, and those rights are “endowed by their Creator,” and that those rights are “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”:
• Paulus rightly suggests the Founders believed these rights do not belong to Americans alone, but to everyone, no matter where they live. These rights supersede any government’s authority, or any combination of government authority.
• The retired pastor enunciates that peoples’ rights come from “their Creator.” These rights are not endowed by mankind, but if mankind takes them away by force, they are not only going against those from whom they have taken them.
• Lastly, that 1. “Life” is uniquely valuable in its potential; 2. “liberty” is freedom to do or not do because an individual life is also limited, and the individual must decide how to use the resources at their disposal; and 3. “pursuit of Happiness” is the freedom of how we practice our liberty — even though happiness itself is not guaranteed, neither for the individual nor the collective because, as a society, we have to allow some level of evil or we cannot expect any level of virtue.
The Founding Fathers wrote the Declaration because King George practiced “a long train of abuses and usurpations” toward a goal of “absolute Despotism” — cruel, oppressive and absolute power. Yet the Revolution was not an effort to overthrow or conquer — as King George accused — but to break away and start over, on new terms, because King George wanted to take away those rights. They abandoned the king’s dictatorial evil to practice their own grassroots virtues.
Not until 15 years after the Declaration did Congress enact the Bill of Rights, but a hint of the First Amendment appears in the opening sentence: “… a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.”
Paulus’ delivery of the Declaration emphasizes the word “impel” — the colonists believed that they had to fight or lose their rights. The Declaration was written to not only outline this belief to King George, but to give him every chance to listen before continuing the war. When we hear about violent mobs attacking conservative speakers or interrupting liberal plays simply because they do not like what they have to say — they are impinging on those very rights.
If you missed Paulus’ reading of the Declaration on Tuesday, you missed a refreshing reminder of some of the passion and meaning with which those words were written.
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