This is a purloined draft of a petition circulating in and around Congress of a formal Resolution stating the sentiment and will of that venerable institution. The ultimate goal, I understand, is to have it anointed as an official declaration of the Republic destined to be placed in the Library of Congress under glass next to the Declaration of Independence. It is rumored that a coarser version sponsored by Senators Cotton and Cruz is lurking in the background. An unauthorized copy has come into my possession and is available upon request.  When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one nation to invade and occupy another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the superior station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle it, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to do so.  We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all nations were created equal but since have diverged, that one enlightened nation among them is charged by its Creator with certain Duties and Obligations to promote Peace, Prosperity and the pursuit of Personal Preference. That other nations are beseeched by their Creator to accept the tutelage of a more Progressive nation so as to ensure their peoples what is judged to be their Liberty, Freedom and such Lives as remain to them. That this power is derived from the consent of Providence. That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of its citizens welfare, That to meet these obligations, one Government was Created to judge whomsoever endangers the security and wellbeing of its people and its neighbors, it is the Right of the Chosen Nation 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 it shall seem most likely to effect the Safety and Happiness of themselves and others.  Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes - with the exception of our Latin American neighbors; 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 indolence renders them indifferent to such abuse, reducing them to objects of absolute Despotism, it is our right, it is our duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security and our own.  For the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Careers, our Consultancies and our Profane Interest.  Cheers, Michael Brenner mbren@pitt.edu Lest someone doubts the seriousness of Professor Brenner's concern, here are his credentials:  Professor of International Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh; a Senior Fellow at the Center for Transatlantic Relations, SAIS-Johns Hopkins (Washington, D.C.), contributor to research and consulting projects on Euro-American security and economic issues.Publishes and teaches in the fields of American foreign policy, Euro-American relations, and the European Union.  Author of numerous books, and over 60 articles and published papers on a broad range of topics. These include books with Cambridge University Press (Nuclear Power and Non-Proliferation) and the Center For International Affairs at Harvard University (The Politics of International Monetary Reform); and publications in major journals in the United States and Europe, such as World Politics, Comparative Politics, Foreign Policy, International Studies Quarterly, International Affairs, Survival, Politique Etrangere, and Internationale Politik. His most recent work is Toward a More Independent Europe Egmont Institute, Brussels.  Directed funded research projects with colleagues at leading universities and institutes in Britain, France, Germany and Italy, including the Sorbonne, Bonn University, King’s College – London, and Universita di Firenze.  RAGA is proud to associate with the best minds of America, Russia and the world. |
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