So What Does Independence Day Mean to You?

For millions of Americans, liberation from a government falling short of its ideals is a goal to be realized, not just a historical victory against a far-distant crown.

That’s not to say that these people are united in their effort. Some are progressive collectivists seeking to distance themselves from the current Trump Administration and have threatened to break financial ties with the federal government.

Others, like a subset of folks from the state of New Hampshire, have suggested downsizing to what essentially amounts to an independent nation. Moreover, seven Illinois counties are exploring other options even more locally.

Still others claim ancestral rights to separate from America, just like other groups who have formed their own new independence project in the last few years.

There are Mothers who have suffered immense harm, sustained over moments, months, or years.

There are the sick, too, prohibited from peaceful choices to ease pain by those who openly mock their Appeals to Heaven.

Scholar Warriors past and present have faced situations where they have witnessed what happens when peaceful movement toward independence is met or repressed by violence and theft.

Some folks don’t have a specific reason to seek independence; they just want to try something else, or don’t want to say what their reason is. In each case, though, people seem to be looking to build a better life for themselves and their children, and haven’t been well served by the system as it is now.

Pick your own story, headline, or belief: Senators being handcuffed. Foreign intervention. Irresponsible spending. Corruption. Love. There is likely something you’re working toward, or want to be away from.

I don’t know what a better future looks like for each of these individuals and groups to achieve their ends, but I hope they do it with awareness of the Principle of Human Respect:

Peaceful separation is better than violent separation, and when differences between persons are irreconcilable, having a clear and peaceful path is essential.

Independence Day started from an appropriately wordy document, a uniquely well-stated expression of a perennial idea, and the spirit was ignored. Worse, it was met with force in a most horrible way.

King George and the British imperial parliament should have let go of colonial America upon receiving the Declaration of Independence, and so too can DC politicians and statehouse bureaucrats choose to not use force when people want to disassociate.

Just power is, after all, derived from consent.

I’m talking idealistically, but that’s important and intentional. Humankind’s ideal should be a society where violence, theft, and corruption are not tolerated. Independence is just one way to establish that at a more manageable scale.

Getting a meeting with a United States Senator might take years, while accountability from the town clerk or mayor who lives up the street is more manageable – though still imperfect.

At the end of the day, disagreement over how to interact is a human problem on a large and small scale. Every act to support or prevent peaceful independence in your life can only be done, or not done, by a human being.

Choosing not to initiate, or support the initiation of violent acts, is an inflection point, a door opening to a friendly room.

You should feel safe saying no to some else’s version of happiness, and also safe saying yes to the creation of communities of consent.

Keep this in mind when you start finding common ground:

Rigid systems create friction with the natural flow that is a hallmark of human life.

I’m not suggesting that peaceful independence is inevitable, lawful, or even smart for you personally to pursue. But I am certain that the option must be readily available as a check on unjust power, and the people who seek to use it.

The choice to dissociate isn’t just a fundamental right for each and every human, it’s a vital check on unjust power, and the people who seek to wield it.