Imagine if there had never been a Declaration of Independence.
There are, after all, plenty of places once ruled by Britain — Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Belize — that gradually acquired their independence over time. What if the thirteen colonies had done the same: not broken with the motherland, but gradually drifted from her, becoming a collection of Canadas? Some historians think that, had George III possessed a different temperament, that is almost certainly what would have happened. Instead of a Congress and a President, we might have a parliament and a prime minister, as they do in Ottawa. Thank goodness America did declare independence. Had she not, the world would be a much worse place. It’s not that I have anything against Canada, or Australia — or indeed my own country, Britain. It’s that the moment Jefferson and co asserted the supremacy of natural rights over pre-modern claims of authority, the American model was born. The United States was conceived in the Declaration of Independence, delivered at the Constitutional Convention in 1787, and grew to become the pinnacle of human achievement. The Declaration was the essential moment — the assertion that natural rights come first, and that power flows from We the People.
The longer I live in America, the more I appreciate being here — and the more I realize just how precious and distinctive this country really is. America is the indispensable country. Founded 250 years ago on a document proclaiming the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, today she underwrites those things across much of the planet. We all know about Elon Musk — a titanic figure of our times, who has built one world- changing technology and industry after another. He is part pioneering engineer in the mold of Nikola Tesla, part businessman in the mold of Vanderbilt, and part hero of liberty in the mold of John Wilkes. But stop and ask a basic question: could Elon have done any of it had he stayed in one of the countries he passed through before he came to America? Had Musk remained in South Africa, or Canada — or, heaven forbid, moved to Europe — would he have achieved a single one of his achievements? You only have to ask the question to see the genius of America. The laws of physics are no different here; nor is the air, or the water. It is what Jefferson and co set in motion with their signatures 250 years ago. My only regret about America declaring her independence from Britain? That I missed so much of the first 245 years, having moved here only five years ago. Douglas Carswell is the President of the Mississippi Center for Public Policy and author of this post.
This post is sponsored by the Mississippi Center for Public Policy.
5 comments:
"It’s that the moment Jefferson and co asserted the supremacy of natural rights over pre-modern claims of authority, the American model was born."
It's "inalienable rights," not "natural rights." "Natural rights" is a loaded term with a very different meaning, especially in the context of the "right to property," and chattel slavery.
Of course, Great Britain led the world in the international slave trade, so it was to be expected that its philosophers would be used to justify it.
What also sets the U.S. apart is the design of three separate but co-equal branches of government, the Bill of Rights (and subsequent amendments to the Constitution), and the idea the the government derives its power from the people, not the other way around.
Does Carswell understand he is acknowledging that we are a country that was grown and populated by immigrants (many of whom were seeking religious freedom as well as the chance to make a living on their own abilities)? And, if he became a citizen this quick, he's lucky or well-connected as well arrogant to opine about our country's history!
Does Doug know many were early " immigrants" to our soil were Lutherans and Presbyterians and the " spare" sons who couldn't inherit the family land? They didn't come with a job waiting. They also wanted freedom FROM the "state" religion in their countries. Looking up the oldest Protestant churches still standing in the country will give Dougie a hint. And most of our Founders weren't already rich when they landed and could be faithful to both their religion and their wives! In fact, we once rid ourselves of politicians who broke any of The Ten Commandments right away. Ronald Reagan was our first divorced President and he'd been faithful to his second wife for a long time. Trump is only the second one!
Does he know that the American women who achieved great things even before Susan B. Anthony led the effort to win the vote for women? A female secretary of Labor got us minimum wage and child labor laws...she also authored Social Security ( you may hate it now since it's been raided by Congress with the assurance it was so very wealthy, no one could ever spend it all)! Look up when that was from but long before then, it got a lot of the families of the Depression. Bet you can't name the woman who was part of the Manhattan Project (she was an immigrant too. And, the first person to fly around the entire world was a woman (nope) not Amelia but this woman lived long enough to be invited to ride in a rocket that was tested). There are likely women who worked in textiles (the industry of the South after the WWI and WWII) still alive). Get a list of the first women in law, medicine, or veterinary schools in the U.S. P.S. Ruth Bader Ginsburg was born in 1933. I think you have a lot of nerve and when exactly did you become a citizen? It often takes five years so you have a lot of nerve claiming to know 245 years of our history! I doubt you'd have last a week in the Depression and I doubt you'd have volunteered to defend us like every male I'm kin to and several who were here to fight in our Revolution. Dolly Madison was from my hometown and didn't just take care of the house! My father got a patent on something you may need one day! It expired upon his death as he wished so it's cheaper!
The first U.S. child abuse law was based on laws that protected animals from abuse. I remember just 49 years ago when widows of men who weren't wealthy ended up poor and could be either a nurse, teacher, social worker, beautician, secretary or housekeeper. It wasn't but a few decades ago that a woman was paid less work at the same job men were doing and they didn't have a ladder to climb! The first woman principal in my town had been everyone's notion of the best teacher in town and was a spinster that only had a little over a decade but still elevated that school academic ratings in short order! Indeed, the GI Bill paid more after our wars than some women made working full time!
We don't want to go backwards because some of you guys don't like having to compete with immigrants (even having been from a family of very late immigrants that missed the toughest times) like our current President or some women. And, since I had a relative who married a Canadian, you have offended them starting with the relatives of Janne Mance 1600's but surely you listened to Celine Dian or Shania Twain or Joni Mitchell. Roberta Bondar was the first woman in space and she was Canadian! I know many Canadians who are delightful, proud of their history and welcoming to immigrants. The ones I've met were too smart and well-educated and too well- mannered to pretend they know Americans about our history or politics after a measly 5 years!
1:46, It's looks like you've had a long weekend. Get some sleep.
Yep..we used to all learn in school that monarchies and dictatorships with one arrogant man and family and/or his rewarded loyalist are at the root of all evil . We learned religious wars were destructive in the rest of the world. " The Rich Get Richer" was phrase of disdain for those who inherited well and power rather than earned it. Some of whom were responsible for the Depression and the Dust Bowl added to it. The Roarin' 20's was a celebration of wealth as was the Gilded Age. Most Americans didn't really love living through those times and frankly the real heroes a successful politicians " shared their wealth" to get their towns through the tough times. Hollywood helped us start to believe we could get better and the "good guy" or " little guy" could still build a future. Doug pick Musk? A guy who spends our tax dollars to prosper by sucking up and donating to politicians to get favorable treatment? What we need is smart men of honor who put Country First, not themselves! No one we elect should leave office richer than when he served beyond what he could earn with the investments he made before taking office. That's what the Emolument law is about! We were all about FAIRNESS for every citizen and we've elected some greedy sociopaths over the years who were weakened those laws. Mr. Smith Comes to Washington and It's a Wonderful Life are movies Mr. Carswell should watch! We used to at least try to aspire every citizen as being entitled to play on a level playing field with the rules of the game equally applied to everyone! The villains used to always be the money hungry, power grabbers who step over children's bodies to make a buck! And our heroes the honorable decent guy succeeding by doing the right thing and treat his fellow citizens badly to get ahead. And, a fair day's pay for a fair day's work, a fair contract/deal, and fair judgement before the law was what we honored and admired! We Want a Few Good Men and Woman...not pretty faces and the gift of gab and one hand in our pockets! We wanted " The Real Thing" not the cheap thing that's put in a pretty jar or wrapped up in glittery paper!
Nice saccarine homage to America from Carswell - but Elon Musk is no Nikola Tesla. Learn more about how he "parlayed" his privilege into uber wealth. Just as Trump is no Teddy Roosevelt - he parlayed privilege into celebrity and manufactured wealth. I voted for Trump three times, but his true character is being revealed as beholden to "special interests", not America's.
So has Musk's lack of character.....everyone's afraid of being assassinated today.
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