Since 1776 we have spent untold time, energy, and legal fees defending and expanding independence, freedom, and human rights, but almost none defending and expanding human responsibilities. It’s time to change that.
The Supreme Court holds lengthy hearings deciding if a lone Colorado website designer can legally refuse a client because of religious differences, but no time discussing responsibility or consequences for a president, who by denying the existence of Covid, caused some 700,000 additional and unnecessary deaths. Go Figure!
Today we have an odd situation where that same president, now a presidential candidate, calls “for the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution,” and his political party mutters not a word. They also said nothing when a follower, obeying right-wing orders to “Kill Pelosi”, hammered her husband. Silence is condoning.
Freedom from Control and Freedom to Control
Independence or freedom as defined in the US carries two opposing ideals — the freedom from control by others, and the freedom to impose your views on others.
Today’s leaders feel free to call for violent insurrection, undermine democracy, propagate lies, and encourage violence against others, then deny responsibility when followers obey their calls. Marching to the same drummer, corporations argue their liberty to undermine human health, dump pollutants that create global climate change, and deplete species and habitats.
May I twist the classic statement and say, “If this is liberty, Give me Death.”
The framers of the Declaration of Independence and our Constitution, white businessmen from the British, North American colonies, sought freedom from the self-serving authority of the British crown. They got their independence, though they couldn’t imagine how independence would lead to the crises we face today.
Inequity and Inequality
If you believe that, “I stand independent. What I own is mine. I have every right to defend my opinion and property,” then you also believe in inequity and inequality. This was not an issue for the framers of the Constitution. They were white, wealthy, and many owned slaves. They embodied inequity and inequality.
In contrast, a culture not based on independence may have a very different view of human rights. The Western idea of inequality, the individual accumulation of wealth, was unimaginable in most native cultures. In 1778, while recommissioning his ship in Hawaii, Captain Cook expressed great frustration when he rewarded his native guide, only to see the reward immediately distributed within the guide’s kinship group. I empathize with his frustrations. Like each of us, he had never experienced equity and equality.
Changed World
Our founding documents suited their day, but we are no longer struggling against a British monarchy, nor launching a fledgling democracy into an authoritarian world. Should we rethink or discuss how our Constitution might be modified to better address today’s issues? How should we best manage our planet and ourselves?
Such a public discussion would generate enormous pushback, particularly from those profiting from the existing assumptions, or having a personal identity closely tied to groups still jousting with past ghosts, “Give me liberty or give me death!”
Responsibility
But not seeing our Constitution as a living breathing document, responding appropriately to an ever-changing world, will steadily escalate our suffering at home and abroad. How will we react when one billion global migrants are fleeing drought, floods, hurricanes, fire, and possibly expanding authoritarianism?
Species or cultures evolve by adding new characteristics, not removing old ones. Adding Responsibility does not mean removing Independence. Reclaiming the planet, moving towards a sustainable, responsible culture will be a necessary, long and bloody battle, but one well worth joining.
Thank you for reading.
Barry
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