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Independence Forever!
By Warren Mass
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Source: The John Birch Society Bulletin, July 2001
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If
it be the pleasure of Heaven that my country shall require the poor
offering of my life, the victim shall be ready. But while I do live,
let me have a country, or at least the hope of a country — and that a
free country. But whatever may be our fate, be assured … this
declaration will stand. It may cost treasure, and it may cost blood;
but it will stand, and it will richly compensate for both … And live or
die, survive or perish, I am for the declaration. It is my living
sentiment, and, by the blessing of God, it shall be my dying sentiment:
independence now, and independence forever!
— Attributed to John Adams, Signing the Declaration of Independence
Independence!
What a wonderful word! Everyone — from your teenager who wants his own
car to your senior-citizen parents who want to remain in their own home
values his or her independence. The same is true of a people. Over the
past century, dozens of former colonies of Great Britain, France, and
other colonial powers secured their places among the nominally
independent nations of the world. Unfortunately, in most cases, their
national collective experiences in pursuit of happiness were not always
… happy.
Contrast that with the United States. For all our
trials during our 225-year-long history, we still have a fair degree of
freedom to pursue happiness as men and women of conscience and good
will. We have a greater combination of political freedom, economic
prosperity, and generosity of national spirit than has been enjoyed by
any major civilization in recorded history.
Reflect, for a
moment, on the immense price that was paid to win our independence,
before our Founders could establish the republican form of government
that secures our freedom. You are no doubt very familiar with the
suffering and hardship experienced by those who fought our War of
Independence. For example, you’ve heard or read about the soldiers at
Valley Forge who lived on flour-and-water pancakes for weeks and who,
lacking shoes, wrapped their frost-bitten feet in strips of blanket,
leaving blood-stained footprints in the snow.
Less known are the
stories of what became of those who actually signed the Declaration of
Independence. You will recall that the signers pledged to each other
their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor. And some were called upon to
fulfill that pledge. The signers from New York, which was occupied by
the British, suffered disproportionately. The wife of Francis Lewis was
imprisoned and treated brutally, shortening her life. When Lewis
returned to his estate after the war, he found most of it damaged or
destroyed. The estates of William Floyd and Lewis Morris were ransacked
and severely damaged. And Philip Livingston, an importer/exporter of
British goods, signed himself out of business. Most of his property was
confiscated by the British and he sold much of what remained to help
fund his new nation.
Thomas Nelson, Jr. of Virginia suffered a
similar fate. “Let my trade perish,” he told those assembled at the
House of Burgesses. “I call God to witness that if any British troops
are landed in the County of York, of which I am Lieutenant, I will wait
no orders, but will summon the militia and drive the invaders into the
sea!” At the battle of Yorktown, when the English were headquartered in
Nelson’s house, his gunners avoided his home. “Why do you spare my
house?” he asked a gunner. “Out of respect to you, Sir,” came the
reply. Nelson directed the cannon fire upon his own house, heavily
damaging it.
Of the 56 men who signed the Declaration, nine died
of injuries incurred during the war; five were imprisoned; the homes of
12 signers were burned to the ground; 17 lost virtually everything they
owned; and the families of many were killed, jailed, and/or left
destitute. In addition, members of the military suffered an estimated
33,769 casualties during the war, including 6,824 battle deaths. The
sacrifice involved in securing the freedom that resulted from American
independence is difficult to fully comprehend.
Squandering Our Inheritance
As
a JBS member, you are no doubt familiar with the many ways our leaders
have compromised American independence in recent decades. One would be
tempted to conclude that the last few generations of Americans,
softened by prosperity and ignorant of history, no longer care about
defending their nation’s sovereignty. However, that conclusion would be
both premature and unfair. If sacrifice during wartime is any barometer
of dedication to our national survival, we live among the greatest
concentration of patriots in our history. Over 16 million Americans
served in World War II, nearly six million in Korea, and nearly nine
million in Vietnam. Casualties in those three wars totaled nearly one
and one-half million. And millions of civilians sacrificed on the home
front. There clearly has been no shortage of Americans dedicated to
duty. But what our soldiers have protected on the battlefields, our
politicians and diplomats have thrown away in the halls of Congress, in
the White House, in embassies, and at the United Nations. But as
disgraceful as our “surrender by diplomacy” has been, an even worse
threat to our sovereignty looms on the horizon.
Regional Government, European Style
Starting
in 1951, with the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), the merger
of Europe into a single political entity has progressed steadily. The
1957 Treaty of Rome set up the European Economic Community (EEC), also
known as the Common Market, and the European Atomic Community
(EURATOM). In 1967, the ECSC, the EEC, and EURATOM merged to form the
European Community (EC). A major transition to continental government
occurred in December 1991, when EC member nations met at Maastricht,
the Netherlands, to sign treaties on monetary and political union. The
treaties:
- Provided for a common currency. (The Euro will replace the currencies of EU members on January 1st.)
- Sought to establish a common foreign policy.
- Laid the foundation for a common defense policy.
- Expanded the areas in which the European Community would have authority.
- Gave the organization a major role in dictating social policy for the member states.
- Increased the powers of the European Parliament.
The Maastricht treaties went into effect in 1993; the EC became known as the European Union in 1994.
But
what does the development of the European Union have to do with U.S.
independence? The answer lies in the similar movement to establish
so-called “free trade” blocs in our own hemisphere. Most Europeans who
came together in 1951 to stabilize the prices of coal and steel
probably never dreamed that they were starting on a road that would
eventually lead to political union and the erosion of their national
sovereignty. That is, the majority of Europeans never dreamed of such a
development. Europe’s own Insiders certainly foresaw where such attacks
on state sovereignty would lead.
Our own independence has been
compromised by participation in the North American Free Trade Agreement
(NAFTA) and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT, since
replaced by the WTO). In an article written in support of NAFTA,
published in the Los Angeles Times of July 18, 1993, consummate Insider
Henry Kissinger said of the trade agreement: “It will represent the
most creative step toward a new world order taken by any group of
countries since the end of the Cold War, and the first step toward an
even larger vision of a free-trade zone for the entire Western
Hemisphere.” The Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) proposed at the
April Summit of the Americas in Quebec City, could well prove to be
another giant step — the “Maastricht Treaties” of the Western
Hemisphere. As William Norman Grigg wrote in the May Bulletin: “Make no
mistake about it: The proposed FTAA, like NAFTA, GATT, and the European
Union, would be another multinational building bloc of a UN-dominated
world order disguised as a ‘free trade’ arrangement.”
As was the
case with NATO (a “regional arrangement or agency” of the United
Nations), regional trading blocs are deceptive constructions used to
erode national sovereignty, step-by-step. The international Insiders,
like all con men, offer some temporary benefit as an enticement for
nations to surrender their national authority. In the case of the EU,
the poorer nations of Europe were lured with infrastructure loans. But
sooner or later, nations learn that piecemeal surrender of sovereignty
is difficult to reverse. Some organizations (the Mafia comes to mind)
do not allow their members to resign.
We must not allow the
European Union to be used as a template for establishing a similar
regional political union in our own hemisphere. The architects of world
order intend for the merger to proceed much more quickly than it did in
Europe, with full implementation of the FTAA planned to begin in 2005.
It is time to stop such regionalization in its tracks.
If you
have not yet read Mr. Grigg’s Foreword, “The ‘Free Trade’ Road to
Tyranny,” in the May Bulletin, we recommend that you do so. We also
highly recommend William F. Jasper’s article, “Pincer Strategy Behind
the FTAA” in The New American of May 21st. His new book, The United
Nations Exposed, devotes an entire chapter to this subject, adding to
the value of this powerful educational tool. (See the article on the
next page and the order form in the centerspread.)
Surrendering Our Legacy
You
have probably read about Woodrow Wilson’s obsession with entangling the
United States in the League of Nations, only to be thwarted by a
patriotic Senate. You probably also recall that, following that
legislative defeat, Wilson’s alter ego, Edward Mandell House, was an
influential figure in founding the Council on Foreign Relations. And
that House’s successors in the CFR (including his disciple, John Foster
Dulles) were largely responsible for establishing the United Nations in
1945.
Since the creation of the United Nations, NATO, and
similar entangling alliances following World War II, the greatest
threat to national sovereignty comes not from foreign invaders, but
domestic scoundrels with a “world view.” To appreciate the threat to
our independence posed by the impending hemispheric “free-trade” zones,
we need only glance eastward, to Europe. Is a Western Hemisphere
equivalent of the European Union what we want for America? And is a
world union under the United Nations — which most certainly would
follow — our answer to the sacrifices of those who pledged their lives,
their fortunes, and their sacred honor?
Independence Day, July
4th, is our nation’s birthday. Fittingly, we celebrate it with parades,
family gatherings, and fireworks. If we may personify our beloved
nation for a moment, we might picture the birthday celebration of a
beloved family member, wishing her good health, and a long life.
Keeping America healthy is the responsibility of every American. Her
birth is a celebration of her independence, and her continued good
health requires a defense of that independence, without compromise.
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