The Declaration of Independence
This country has fallen a long way from its original ideals. Despite what our government and most of our population have come to represent at home and abroad, our founding fathers were free-thinking, rebellious, proud, stubborn, tough and practical believers in liberty, equality, and justice. In other words, they were Thelemites (well, technically speaking, they were Deists). Wipe your mind clean of your high school civics teacher and hidebound evangelicals trying to shove the founding fathers down your throat (oh! bad visual!) and trying to sell you a corporate version of patriotism premised on submission to the status quo. Read the Declaration with new eyes and awaken, if you Will, a true love of this country as it was envisioned 232 years ago:
"IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America
When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. - That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, - That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security."
And of course it continues, but that's the best part (however, if you keep reading the text on-line, you'll find that a surprising number of King George's numerous transgressions could apply to the current administration. I'm just sayin'...
So how should rebellious Thelemites celebrate the Fourth of July so as to honor the original spirit of the Declaration? A lot of us don't celebrate the Fourth. But we *could*, in a different mindset. Fireworks and BBQ's are just status quo customs; not particularly meaningful, IMHO. But find something that embodies Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. Perhaps write something rebellious and free-thinking. If you're gay in California, get married! Enjoy unusual combinations of substances and sexual partners. Find a way to withdraw from the corporate behemoth that sucks our lifeblood: eschew mass media; grow your own vegetables, ride a bicycle. Contribute to a political campaign or activist group that symbolizes freedom and equality to you. Go searching for your HGA. The possibilities are endless. Have fun. Oh, and happy July 4th!
"IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America
When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. - That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, - That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security."
And of course it continues, but that's the best part (however, if you keep reading the text on-line, you'll find that a surprising number of King George's numerous transgressions could apply to the current administration. I'm just sayin'...
So how should rebellious Thelemites celebrate the Fourth of July so as to honor the original spirit of the Declaration? A lot of us don't celebrate the Fourth. But we *could*, in a different mindset. Fireworks and BBQ's are just status quo customs; not particularly meaningful, IMHO. But find something that embodies Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. Perhaps write something rebellious and free-thinking. If you're gay in California, get married! Enjoy unusual combinations of substances and sexual partners. Find a way to withdraw from the corporate behemoth that sucks our lifeblood: eschew mass media; grow your own vegetables, ride a bicycle. Contribute to a political campaign or activist group that symbolizes freedom and equality to you. Go searching for your HGA. The possibilities are endless. Have fun. Oh, and happy July 4th!