The American Revolution Solution

I like asking folks trivia questions during my writing journey. Quickly! Why do we celebrate July 4th? Five-year-old, Kyle, said that he and his mommy swim in the pool while his daddy barbeques hot dogs.

“I like watching the fireworks at night time. We go to the park with grammy and grampy, too. The booming sounds scare me at first, but I have a lot of fun with my friends,” Kyle said. Can you beat the little guy's answer?

Once upon a time, American colonists desired to beat a seemingly arbitrary Stamp Act. The imposing tax was to raise revenue for the British army milling about in Massachusetts,(1765). So, the colonists rebelled and the tax proposal disappeared.

The thirteen colonies encompassed Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts Bay, Maryland, South Carolina, New Hampshire, Virginia, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. Each colony had implemented an autonomous government.

Keep in mind the United States didn’t exist back then. Rather, the homesteading farmers along the east coast were content, dwelling under the rule of King George,III (British Paliament)until he imposed another tax: The Tea Act of 1773.

“Taxation tyranny!” cried the militant Patriots in Massachusetts, who organized the Boston Tea Party. The notorious group ransacked numerous trading ships moored in the Boston Harbor, throwing 18,000 pounds of tea (megabucks)into the sea. There’s much more to the historical conflict, I’m sure.

Parliament responded by closing the Boston Harbor to merchant ships, subsequently establishing British military rule throughout Massachusetts. Colonists were mandated to house British troops as their pesky presence filtered through the remaining colonies. The British soldiers were also immune to criminal prosecution in America. Now that reads: T-R-O-U-B-L-E.

The American Revolution formed the Continental Congress; a quasi-government comprised of Patriot representatives who passed measures abolishing British authority.

Thomas Paine, a journalist and the author of, Common Sense, argued in favor of American independence. Mr. Paine was dubbed, “…a corsetmaker by trade, a journalist by profession and a propagandist by inclination.” Then, as now, journalists and print media frenzies stir political contention.

The multi-faceted Benjamin Franklin was another well-known author and businessman, teaming with notable others, including Thomas Jefferson, who penned the Declaration of Independence in the summer of 1776.  Trivia question: What are the first, six words in the historical document?

In the course of human events, the dissertation validated America’s secession from Britain. On July 4, 1776, the Declaration was adopted by 12 colonies (New York lagged for a couple of weeks).

You can well imagine the fireworks displays and the cause for jubilant celebration as America the Beautiful formally claimed independence from Britain.

Folks, I’m no historian, though I’ve been cast into the role, here and there. I attended the Menifee city council meeting, June 4, because City Manager Robert Johnson and Finance Department Director Terri Willoughby presented a city budget workshop for the council members; obligatory public information, sans the public forum. The presentation was well-done. Mr. Johnson and Ms. Willoughby readily explained some accounting principles using simple analogies.

As I understood the basics, the city is faring well, considering the prevailing fiscal dynamics of SB 56: http://openstates.org/ca/bills/20132014/SB56/, coupled with inevitable growth and constant change, barring cataclysmic events.

I learned that the acronym, CIP, stands for Capital Improvement Project. We can welcome road improvements on Newport between Antelope and Menifee as the thoroughfare stretch will be widened into an accomodating six lanes by the end of the year (CIP No. 01-13).

When the floor opened during the council meeting, a couple of residents each boisterously lambasted existing inconveniences (rather than to say they jeered the officials), which the reps can remedy, given time. That’s their job.

“This city should be renamed, MANIFEE!” one resident shouted into the microphone. I missed the remainder of the statement because I favor playing with words, too. I was on a jotting roll. I prefer a more literary moniker such as, Serenely Picturesque Manifee Lakes.

“I called the police many times. They never showed up to arrest the kids who were drinking alcohol and smoking pot in the gazebo by the lake, late at night,” another resident complained. Hmmmm. His observation, through high-powered binoculars, conjured up a few, distant memories for which I’ll admit nothing and deny everything pertinent to a purple, hazy gazebo adjacent to a popular, undisclosed lake.

Not to deride vocal, public concern in the least. I’m not worthy to serve in public office. No doubt, my scant patience would be circling the drain, mid-naysayer-diatribe. Thus, I’ll remain a third-party observer, commending others’ professional silence in response to a verbal lashing.

The truth is if it wasn’t for naysayers, The American Revolution would never have changed the course of our nation’s embattled, capitalistic, democratic history, nor would the Constitution of the United States be diligently amended by the people, for the people. I’m all for joyously acknowledging 237 years of independence; the last 55 years to which I’ve been a grateful, patriotic recipient. 

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. 

http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration_transcript.html

Lynda Starwriter is freelance writer, humorist and professional speaker on such topics as gazebo democracy. She can be reached via email: lyndastarwriter@aol.com