Thread: The Declaration of Independence from Authority

Preamble: It is with the utmost regret that We have put down the following account, for its number one meaning is that as the People of the great United states of America, We were unable to prevent the outcome of things horrid and cruel. But it is clear, and the grave fact of the matter becomes more undeniable with each unspeakable act of tyranny. We, as the united and collected People of the great States, at this moment, hereby declare our Independence from every man, woman, child, and any other person with the slightest amount of authority and power that is greater than what every single person has; whether or not this authority and power have been stolen, bought, gained, inherited, or earned, it matters not. What does however, stand out like a sore thumb amidst all due and present facts, is that as humans, civilians, and simple beings, We are unable to control power, little though it may be. People with authority have been widely known to deceive, torture, oppress, horrify, appall, agonize, excruciate, smite, mutilate, martyr, and annihilate their People with their unnerving, malicious, frightening, repugnant, lurid, abominable, formidable, and grisly doings. Such evidence can no longer be ignored, and the time has come to take crucial and climacteric action.
Declaration of Rights: While it is more than obvious the reasons for which We choose to declare ourselves independent from authority, We feel it necessary to state them nonetheless, for all people – the lay men and the intellectuals. There are countless examples that We could use and base our desire for said independence on, but let us focus our sights on the most extreme and atrocious of cases. Allow us to travel back in the line of history, to a more medieval, but no less terrifying time of ancient Eastern Europe. To the lands of Romania, Istanbul, the Carpathians, Byzantium, and Wallachia. Travel to these ancient faraway lands, and one will find an awful tale after tale about none other than Vlad the Impaler, more commonly referred to as Vlad Dracula. This man, although less known of, did things that were no less horrifying. It is widely known that Sultan Mehmed II had once sent two ambassadors to Dracula. When the ambassadors came before him, they did not remove their turbans. Dracula demanded to know why they were dishonoring him in this way, and they replied that they were simply acting in accordance with their own customs. “Then I shall help you to strengthen your customs,” he replied, and he had their turbans nailed to their heads. And then of course, We will forever, in the history of mankind, remember the horrific chain of events that occurred in what was possibly the darkest time in humanity: the Holocaust. The human race stood there and watched Adolf Hitler slaughter and kill innocent people. He was abusing his authority as much as one could, pushed the limits and boundaries of the word “overkill”, and intimidated his People with his power to do as he pleased. It is needless to remind of the millions of people that lost their lives during this time, under hence rule. The last, and most recent example of the abuse of authority and power comes from one of our very own presidents – Richard Nixon. Forcefully removed from office, this man was responsible for reading an astonishing and revealing book made up of transcripts of two-hundred hours of secretly recorded White House tapes. It is also known that Nixon was in on the cover-up of the Watergate break-in right after the burglars were caught. He obstructed and defied justice by bribing witnesses, and he all-too easily bribed those even the closest to him.
So what kind of world has it become, when even friends and relatives have no more meaning, when power and greed have corrupted the peaceful nature of a hard-working community, and when all set morals and limits are broken and defied? Can we, as a collective people of a great country, continue to give individuals authority and power, to hand them the throne on a silver platter, and then watch as they abuse this power take advantage of their rights? Together, the People of the United States of America have come up with an answer – no. We may have regarded the situation with mere caution, had the offences not been so clearly repetitive, and so horrifyingly gory. Henceforth, and based on the previously stated facts, we declare independence from power and authority, and have every right in doing so.
List of Grievances: So let it be said now, the reasons for which We refuse to cooperate under the restriction of our rights, which is the condition that we are in as long as we make room for authority.
When authority and power are given to an individual, it puts that person at a level higher than his people. Has it not been stated in the Constitution that all human beings are equal? Who are we to say that one man is better than another? When authority is given, it separates that individual from the rest of the collective people, and divides their levels of understanding of one another. Had the two parties stayed together from the beginning, more peaceful and unified decisions can be made.
When authority and power are given to an individual, it gives that person a feeling of superiority, and may lead to a false sense of immortality and gloriousness. And such a feeling often derives a desire and greed for more power. The person will want to be worshipped and feared, and known to the whole world. Unfortunately, many choose to achieve these goals through infamy rather than fame, and the people are the ones that suffer through their strive for a God-like figure.
When authority and power are given to an individual, then the natural order of humanity is defied. Life on Earth started out as every man for himself. That is the way the system of our daily lives ought to be. In putting someone in charge, We are stating that we are incapable of making such decisions on our own. Are we really going to stoop so low and degrade and insult our intelligence in such a way, only to see this person explode in a mass of greed and lust? We say nay.
When authority and power are given to an individual, we risk this person abusing this power, and therefore going against the principal of human ethics. Abuse of power is that situation that exists whenever someone who has power over others, (that is, the capacity to impose his or her will on those others) for example, by virtue of his or her superior mental dexterity, social position, physical strength, knowledge, technology, weapons, wealth, or the trust that others have in him or her, unjustifiably uses that power to exploit those others, or through lack of action, allows exploitation to occur to them. It follows that someone who does not have a particular form of power cannot abuse it. It also follows that the main and perhaps the only principal of human ethics and morality should be to avoid the abuse of power. Abuse of power or authority may be prime source and true essence of moral evil, which occurs when someone refuses to accept responsibility for the welfare of others, especially those naturally under his or her direct care.
When authority and power are given to an individual, the people over which this authority has been placed, are losing their God-given right of liberty, sometimes the pursuit of happiness, and occasionally life. Whether or not they did so knowingly, people have put monsters on the throne, and therefore entrusted their fate to them. Now hear this, if you will. If sixty percent of people gave authority to an individual, and forty percent were against it, this individual would, going with the majority, receive this power. It is fortunate for those sixty percent, but because of the decision to give authority in the first place, forty percent will suffer unwillingly. They may want to have certain rights and do certain things, but under the rule of the appointed individual, they will be unable to do so. It can be said that someone has power, if that someone can decisively influence the reality of others, or take if away in a whole. In a shortened summary, when authority is given, someone always suffers. Is it better not to give authority at all and keep everyone happy and together with their God-given rights? We think so.
When authority and power are given to an individual, we force ourselves to succumb into the unknown. We are guided into darkness, no matter how bright the promises and swears of such individual were. No one is a mind reader – we cannot know exactly what someone has planned for us and our future, and what they will and will not do. It is easy to lie nowadays, and such a habit has become so universally understood and so commonly practiced by us today. The art of deception is evolving daily, and with it, it becomes harder and harder to decipher the true motives of our supposed superiors. We throw ourselves in the midst of compete and unexpected toll of events. No matter how sure we may seem, we will never have an exact way of being positive of the goals of those we appoint authority to.
When authority and power are given to an individual, we are supposedly appointing the greatest person of the bunch. However, how does one measure greatness? Is it by intelligence? Skill? Durability? Perseverance? Strength? Courage? Nobleness? Such a question will be forever debated on by intellects and philosophers, and until they come to a conclusion, we have absolutely no basis whatsoever on which we hand out authority. How do we know that the “greater” man is the one that’s in charge? We don’t. Right now, we are acting on pure instinct and gut feelings, or we are determining our decision based on one of the previous categories. Still, we have no way of knowing if any of them truly define the meaning of “greater”. And since greater is our goal, we have been blind in trying to reach it. While a tyrant is on the throne, the greater man could be suffering with the others in the crowd, and we would never know it. Would it not be better to withdraw all authority altogether and work as a united People to avoid such guessing? We think so.
And finally, when authority and power are given to an individual, we are saying that we think we ourselves are not worthy of making the same decisions, and getting the same respect. We single out one person who therefore has an awful lot of responsibility on his shoulders, but a lot of glory as well. We think that it is most unfair to give the spotlight to a figure who more often than not, is a mere symbol, representing the achievements and failures of a collective people. If they fail, then the person is scolded alone. If they succeed, then the person is praised alone. Wouldn’t it be ideal if everyone had an equal, and perfectly distributed amount of power and authority? Wouldn’t it be better if we succeeded together and took the blame together, rather than placing it all on one person? Can you understand the obvious bonuses that come with the defiance of all authority and power that is not equal? We hope that we have explained this well enough for you to see why we are declaring such independence.
Formal declaration (Conclusion): It is after sighting specific and factual historical examples and explaining the usurpations brought on by authority and power, that as the United States of America, we formally declare our independence from every man, woman, child, and any other person with the slightest bit of authority and power that is greater than what every single person has.
Tyranny and abuse of power are horrid acts that go against all rules of human morality, and are considered to be pure evil. We refuse to bear these acts any more, and it is more than obvious and crystal clear that the only way to completely eliminate any chance of such evil, is through the abolishment and defiance of all authority and power that is greater than what every single person has. Everyone’s opinion has a right to be heard, and everyone’s voice has a right to speak. But no opinion may be labeled as better, and no voice may shout over another. If we are to pursue with this independence, as we shall, we may find ourselves in a matter of years to be living in a peaceful utopia, filled with quiet serenity and perfect sanctuaries. Is this not the sort of world that the human race has dreamt of since the beginning of time? Is this not the sort of world that we would want our kids and grand-kids, and great-grand-kids to live in? Without conflict, war, poverty, violence, obstruction, labels, and abuse of power? We say yes.

To whom are the grievances directed? To those with power over another person?

By that logic, the grievances are filed against every living being. So you might want to change the dominant pronoun from "we" to "I" unless you are Legion.

Remember that, technically, the Declaration of Independence was written by a committee, and that committee was endowed with the powers of an elected body. They had... authority... given to them by others. Declaring independence from a body for a group requires authority in itself.

A declaration (like the one you modeled this after), doesn't require justification, because it is not an argument. So when skimming through this and seeing the words "Dracula" and "Richard Nixon" under the heading "Declaration of Rights" I was justifiably confused. Do we have a right to Dracula and Richard Nixon?

If you're not serious: a great bit of satire. If not, then I would ask this question: what would your independent, utopian society do with criminals without using any sort of power over that person?