Sunday, July 04, 2010

Subjects, to Citizens, to Something Even Greater

Claire Wolfe links to a Washington Post article titled Jefferson changed ‘subjects’ to ‘citizens’ in Declaration of Independence, wherein one can read this.

“Subjects.”

That’s what Thomas Jefferson first wrote in an early draft of the Declaration of Independence to describe the people of the 13 colonies.

But in a moment when history took a sharp turn, Jefferson sought quite methodically to expunge the word, to wipe it out of existence and write over it. Many words were crossed out and replaced in the draft, but only one was obliterated.

Over the smudge, Jefferson then wrote the word “citizens.”

No longer subjects to the crown, the colonists became something different: a people whose allegiance was to one another, not to a faraway monarch. (bold by ed.)

Those words in bold, in the above quote, are the words I draw your attention to.  I do not think the writer of the piece, Marc Kaufman, is remotely aware of what those words in bold imply, nor are most Americans, now.  I state this because a good percentage of American individuals, today, have withdrawn their allegiance from one another, and instead have given their allegiance over to the United States government, which provides support to the thought that the Constitution was a counter-revolutionary act.

In the comment thread to Claire’s post, commenters are objecting to be labeled a citizen, and I completely understand why, because I also object to being labeled a citizen.  Claire responds to the objections with some additional reading on Jefferson, and ends her comment response this way.

I agree with Pat on the present state of things. If going from “subjects” to “citizens” was a huge philosophical change (and it was), then it’s time for another similar leap. Something to think about this Independence Day.

I wonder, too, whether articles about this (that are making major mainstream media rounds) might get a few people thinking. Most will probably just take it as a bit of historical trivia and move on. Ho hum. But what if a few thousand people who haven’t been coherently “political” hear about this say, “Hm … what have we become now? What are we to the government and what’s the government to us?” Could happen…

Indeed, “what have we become now?”  It is time for another huge philosophical leap, a full restoration of allegiance amongest individuals, and a casting off of the chains of government.  Let us obliterate American individuals’ servitude to the State.

Posted by John Venlet on 07/04 at 11:25 AM
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