Their history books, British and American alike, are filled with heroic tales of rebellion against tyrannical authorities over the issue of liberty. John Wilkes, a courageous political radical, is as much a legend to the Brits, as Sam Adams is to his fellow Americans. (1) It was the activism of Adams and the Sons of Liberty, which contributed significantly to the consciousness of resistance and to the eventual success of the American Revolution, via the Gen. George Washington-led Continental Army. The latter’s recruits came mostly from the farming, working class and immigrant communities. (2)

Who, really, are these Brits and Yanks? We do know that, at one time, you were asking for big trouble, like in a Missouri (or Essex, England) mini-second, if you dared to trespass on their land, or tried to stop them from going to church, or kept them from publishing a pamphlet expressing their ideas. Now, they mostly watch the mindless Reality TV shows or their favorite pro sports events and let the repulsive Neocons and George W. Bush, and his “poodle,” UK’s PM Tony Blair, run their warmongering agendas. (3) Incidentally, where is the national interest in fighting a war in the Middle East for the benefit of Israel, Big Oil and the Military-Industrial Complex? (4)

In the past, if a Brit or Yank were jailed without due process of law, their antagonist would passionately be reminded of historic Runnymede, the Magna Charta, the majestic Common Law, William Blackstone’s brilliant Commentaries, Natural Law and of the supremacy of their Constitutions. Ours is a written document, the Brits, strangely, isn’t. (5) And don’t even think of taking their guns away, especially from the Yanks - ever! This is an absolute no-no! The psyches of both peoples were steeped in conspiracy theories and still are. It is part of their heritage. (6) They have always expected the worst from their governments, since they knew human nature is flawed, with a tendency, unless checked, to abuse political power.

And yet today, law after draconian law, has been placed on the statutory books in both countries that rip the revered “Rights of Englishmen,” the cherished U.S. Constitution, and the hallowed Bill of Rights to shreds. In the U.S., it’s the dreaded USA Patriot Act and related devices, the domestic intelligence agencies created after 9/11, and also the fact that preventive detention is now the law of the land, that are doing the foul deed. (7) And in Queen Elizabeth’s shaky Realm, it’s their “Prevention of Terrorism” law that is the main culprit. The Brits first tried it out on the feisty Irish, who continue to object to having their country partitioned by scheming imperialists. Now, that feared law is on the books in merry old England itself. This is an example, too, of the great Law of Karma at work.

In America, we have just picked a “Commissar,” one Michael Chertoff, to run a 180,000 man agency that will eventually place all Yanks under surveillance 24/7. In my opinion, this is a really bad idea! Chertoff, too, is a bureaucrat, who shouldn’t be trusted with parking your car, never mind being given that kind of immense power. His appointment cleared the Senate by a 98 to zip vote! Meanwhile, the two countries’ War Parties are continuing to take their own citizens, by way of service in the military, and use them for cannon fodder in Afghanistan and Iraq. (8) Syria and Iran are the next targets for these serial liars. (9) The mostly knavish Brits and Yanks have hardly said a word in response to these outrages. Now, this is a revealing fact about the true state of both of these once-spirited peoples, whose forefathers helped to give Ancient Greek’s Democracy its modern meaning.

Ignorance of history plays a part in this saga of decline. Few realize that the Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution, didn’t create any new rights! It was simply a “declaration” of rights that had always existed in America, and at Common Law in England, (judge-made law), since time immemorial. They are rights, liberties and freedoms that belong to the people. The government gives you no rights! It can only take away your rights, if the people let it. The truth is that the people are the source of all political power and that government is their agent. And that they, the people, created the government, and the Constitution, and that they have the right to revise, alter or abolish that federal government at anytime that they so please. This brings into sharp focus the deeper meaning of the First Amendment. It sets out the individual’s right, and also the collective right of the people to Petition, to Assembly, and to hold a popular national convention to demand the redress of their grievances. (10)

Some of the Founding Fathers, like Alexander Hamilton, believed that a Bill of Rights wasn’t even necessary! His position was that the Constitution was a document of limitations and that if a power wasn’t enumerated or reasonably implied from it, then it was a power reserved and/or belonging to the people or to the states. Well, fortunately for us, others, like James Mason of VA, thought a written Bill of Rights was needed anyway, just in case a corrupt regime might one day threaten the security of the individual with oppressive laws fashioned after a police state.

Finally, the sages insist that, “Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.” In 2005, in the UK and in America, unfortunately, that price hasn’t been paid. And as a result, our ancient liberties and freedoms are fading as never before in our respective histories. In the meantime, the War Parties of both countries are engaged in bloody conflicts that are unjust and immoral and in the interests only of the powerful Wire Pullers (read New World Order) behind the scenes. I think that the protesters, who recently unfolded a banner in front of the White House, that read, “The Massacre Continues. Our Hands Are Full of Blood. There Are No Innocent Bystanders,” have it right. (11)

Only an awakened citizenry can remedy this alarming situation, which can only get worse unless all people of conscience in the UK and America take effective action to bring it immediately to an end. Remember, we, as a collective, are the root source of the power of our governments. They are merely our agents. And that we, the people, have the right and the solemn duty, when circumstances compel us to do so, to take that power back! (12)

Notes:

1. “Sam Adams: Pioneer in Propaganda,” by John C. Miller.
2. “Encyclopedia of the American Revolution,” Ed. by Mark M. Boatner III.
3. The Anti-War Movement, in both countries, is the prime exception to this belief. Its activism can only be described as inspiring.
4. “Sorrows of Empire,” by Chalmers Johnson.
5. William Blackstone’s “Commentaries on the Laws of England.”
6. “The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution,” by Bernard Bailyn.
7. www.answers.com/topic/hamdi-v-rumsfeld
8. icasualties.org/oif/
9. counterpunch.org/martin07012004.html
10. “The Bill of Rights,” by Akhil Reed Amar.
11. “Jonah House,” Newsletter, Baltimore, MD, Winter 2005.
12. “Declaration of Independence,” Philadelphia, PA, July 4, 1776.

© William Hughes 2005

William Hughes is the author of “Saying ‘No’ to the War Party” (IUniverse, Inc.). He can be reached at liamhughes-AT-comcast.net.