Protecting The Declaration Of Independence In Our 250th Year

July Fourth marked 249 years since nan 13 American colonies rejected a British monarch and embraced freedom. But arsenic we participate nan first days of our 250th twelvemonth connected this Earth, it feels for illustration we’re moving successful nan incorrect direction.  

The Declaration of Independence was a bold (though intelligibly ne'er afloat realized) assertion of equality and antiauthoritarian ideals. Thomas Jefferson wrote that governments deduce "their conscionable powers from nan consent of nan governed" – nan group of nan United States would determine our ain fate, not beryllium anyone’s subjects.  

But successful nan past six months each 3 branches of authorities person done superior harm to those ideals. And successful conscionable nan past fewer weeks we’ve seen our authorities repudiating nan halfway values of nan Declaration of Independence.

"For suspending our ain Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested pinch powerfulness to legislate for america successful each cases whatsoever."  

An elaborate poster collage features a printed floor plan of Donald Trump's look pinch a crown painted connected apical of his head, flanked by 2 images of nan Statue of Liberty's look and nan building "No King" during a objection successful New York City connected June 14, 2025. (John Senter/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

The animating thought down nan American Revolution and nan Constitution that yet emerged was that group were successful complaint done representatives. President Donald Trump has not suspended our legislatures, but he has moved to sideline them and presume nan powerfulness to legislate for himself.

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Last week unsocial saw nan last endgame for USAID, dismantled by nan president contempt legislature authorization. The Department of Education is refusing to administer billions of congressionally appropriated dollars to authorities schools. And nan management sued Los Angeles for refusing to usage its ain resources to assistance ICE’s convulsive deportation arrests.   

In conscionable nan past fewer weeks, nan Department of Justice charged a personnel of Congress aft an oversight sojourn to an migration detention installation and national agents handcuffed Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., for asking Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem questions astatine a property conference.   

"He has obstructed nan Administration of Justice... He has made Judges limited connected his Will alone..."  

We person nary authorities if nan president is not bound to travel nan law, which is why nan founders recognized nan value of an independent judiciary.  

Yet President Trump has brazenly surgery laws and violated nan Constitution. Numerous little tribunal judges, including those appointed by nan president himself, person excoriated DOJ lawyers for stonewalling their orders and violating nan basal owed process protections guaranteed by nan Constitution. In immoderate cases, nan management has appeared to openly defy nan courts, for illustration erstwhile they refused to extremity deportations to a torture situation successful El Salvador.  

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More alarming, Congress and nan Supreme Court mostly look eager to help. Two weeks ago, President Trump’s erstwhile defense lawyer and existent elder DOJ official, Emil Bove, received a friends proceeding from nan Senate Judiciary Committee considering his information to nan Third Circuit Court of Appeals. This contempt a whistleblower describing him openly contemplating telling courts "f--- you."   

"For transporting america beyond Seas to beryllium tried for pretended offences."  

The founders were aggrieved by Britain hauling group distant from their communities connected specious charges. Yet present we are again.   

Although nan Supreme Court prevented nan management from sending much group to El Salvador's notorious CECOT situation nether nan Alien Enemies Act, they person allowed 238 Venezuelans, three-quarters pinch nary criminal record, to languish location since March. And conscionable 2 weeks ago, nan tribunal blessed nan deportation of others to countries they’ve ne'er group ft successful without a chance to situation that action.

"He has kept among us, successful times of peace, Standing Armies without nan Consent of our legislatures."  

Freedom is difficult to travel by erstwhile those successful powerfulness tin sic nan subject connected nan people. The colonists kicked retired nan British for this offense, yet President Trump federalized nan California National Guard without nan consent of nan California government, past brought successful active-duty U.S. Marines, and past moreover much Marines aft nan questionable justification of civilian unrest was over.   

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"He has... sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people, and eat retired their substance."  

The singular hallmark of this administration’s first six months has been nan usage of authorities powerfulness to harass nan president’s perceived enemies.  

The management escalated its warfare connected Harvard University. It forced nan resignation of nan president of nan University of Virginia nether threat of national backing cuts. President Trump called for ineligible action against nan New York Times and CNN for their reporting connected nan Iran bombing run that contradicted nan president’s preferred story. Secretary Noem called for an investigation into CNN for reporting connected a nationalist ICE-tracking app. And by withholding support of a merger, nan management sewage Paramount to pony up $16 cardinal to his interests to settee a thoroughly meritless suit complete "60 Minutes" editorial decisions. 

All that was successful conscionable 1 week.  

If President Trump and his friends are going to repudiate nan Declaration of Independence, past we request to usage nan 250th twelvemonth of our state to peacefully but fiercely embrace nan revolutionary spirit. 

We would hardly beryllium nan first to return those values of equality and state and situation America to do better. At Seneca Falls, nan delegates calling for women’s equality modeled their Declaration of Sentiments connected nan Declaration of Independence. 

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Dr. Martin Luther King’s astir celebrated speech, delivered connected nan steps of nan Lincoln Memorial, lodged its dream successful nan words of nan Declaration of Independence: "We clasp these truths to beryllium aforesaid evident, that each men are created equal."   

The authorities rang successful this July 4th by testing our committedness to our nation’s founding ideals of equality and authorities of, by and for nan people. But that perfect is still worthy fighting for peacefully – successful nan courts, astatine nan ballot container and successful nan streets. Not to reconstruct immoderate of nan flawed institutions that came earlier and during this administration, but to build a much conscionable type of America that is truer to its ideals. 

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