Yeah, the U. S. Declaratory of Independence really helps people*:
'"When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands... they should declare the causes...." This was the opening of the Declaration of Independence. Then, in its second paragraph, came the powerful philosophical statement:
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, Gov- ernments 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.
It then went on to list grievances against the king, "a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an ab- solute Tyranny over these States." The list accused the king of dissolving colo- nial governments, controlling judges, sending "swarms of Officers to harass our people," sending in armies of occupation, cutting off colonial trade with other parts of the world, taxing the colonists without their consent, and waging war against them, "transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny."
All this, the language of popular control over governments, the right of rebellion and revolution, indignation at political tyranny, economic burdens, and military attacks, was language well suited to unite large numbers of colon- ists, and persuade even those who had grievances against one another to turn against England.
Some Americans were clearly omitted from this circle of united interest drawn by the Declaration of Independence: Indians, black slaves, women. In- deed, one paragraph of the Declaration charged the King with inciting slave re- bellions and Indian attacks:
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.'
Today in Labor History June 24, 1525: The Church reconquered the Anabaptist free state of Munster. The Anabaptists had created a sectarian, communal government in Munster, Germany, during the Reformation. They controlled the city from February until June 24, 1525. They were heavily persecuted for their beliefs, which included opposition to participation in the military and civil government. They saw themselves as citizens of the Kingdom of God, and not citizens of any political state. Their beliefs helped radicalize people during Germany’s Peasant War, a revolt against feudalism and for material equality among all people. Some of the early Anabaptists practiced polygamy and polyamory, as well as the collective ownership of property. The more conservative decedents of the Anabaptists include the Mennonites, Amish and Hutterites.
The Munster rebellion has been portrayed in several works of fiction. My all-time favorite is “Q,” (1999) by the autonomist-Marxist Italian writing collective known as Luther Blissett. They currently write under the pen name Wu Ming. Giacomo Meyerbeer wrote an opera about it 1849, Le prophète.
Pretty sure if you weren't hellbent on discriminating against and denying LGBTQ their basic human rights they wouldn't feel the need for a flag to pronounce their plight.
"Martha-Ann Alito Condemns Pride Flags, the Left, and the Media"
Gabby Petito went missing in the summer of 2021 and was later found to have been murdered by her fiancé. Her disappearance generated enormous publicity, which at the time was described by activists as "Missing White Woman Syndrome," where white crime victims get more attention than non-white ones. Now, Gabby's family and the foundation they created in her honor are campaigning for every missing person to get the same level of publicity as she did. Here's an interview from People magazine with her father Joe.
Today in Labor History May 28, 1797: French authorities executed proto-anarchist revolutionary Gracchus Babeuf. Babeuf formed a secret society during the time of the French Revolution, known as the Conspiracy of the Equals, that plotted to overthrow the revolutionary government, and replace it with one that was truer to Jacobin ideals. The group included Sylvain Maréchal, Jacques Roux, Jean Varlet and others. Specifically, they called for a society with absolute equality, through the collectivization of all lands and the means of production, and putting an end to all poverty, at least for citizens of France. They also called for the abolition of private property and equal access to food, demands that resonated heavily among the impoverished French population, who were suffering from hunger during the economic crisis that followed the Revolution. By early April, 1796, half a million Parisians were in need of relief. And people began singing Babeuf’s song, Mourant de faim, mourant de froid ("Dying of Hunger, Dying of Cold"), in the cafés.
Throughout his life, Babeuf advocated for the poor and for the abolition of private property. He said "Society must be made to operate in such a way that it eradicates once and for all the desire of a man to become richer, or wiser, or more powerful than others."
#Freedom, #justice, #equality, and #opportunity are #values the majority of #Americans can agree on. The #GOP as it is incarnated now so narrows the scope of applicability as to make their positions utter falsehoods for large groups of people. The majority can see through their #lies, but adherents see #mendacity as the cost of doing business. But at least they believe what they profess and the means to get there. #Democrats on the other hand, are facing a crisis of #legitimacy. The #contradictions between #democratic values and #foreign_policy have been laid bare. #Israel/Gaza, the #TikTok ban, and the heavy-handed #police response to campus #demonstrations have shown that democratic values will be tossed aside the moment they conflict with #policy goals and manufactured #consensus. It's not that people don't #believe in the values Democrats profess; it's that people don't believe that Democrats believe in these values.
Equality is essential for sustainability. The science is clear — people in more-equal societies are more trusting and more likely to protect the environment than are those in unequal, consumer-driven ones.
Richard G. Wilkinson & Kate E. Pickett, Nature 627, 268-270 (2024)
I bet men don't get to hear this often (or ever?) 😉
An early career female researcher, whom I even hardly know, approached me at a meeting and said that she doesn't want to be (so successful) like me, because they plan to have kids in a couple of years.
Never mind the bizarre prejudice of this remark. As a matter of fact, I was not giving life hacks, nor commenting anyone's life choices. This came out of the blue in a next sentence to "Congrats on your professorship". #equality#womeninstem
"The same pernicious systems making it possible for environmental degradation to happen are some of the same systems plaguing communities of colour. The ideology of extraction and its supporting ideas of domination, sacrifice and disposability — they have to give way to a concept of regeneration."
Chess Grandmaster Anna Muzychuk refuses to play in Saudi Arabia and says: "In a few days, I will lose two world titles, back to back." Because I decided not to go to Saudi Arabia. I refuse to play by special rules, to wear abaya, to be accompanied by a man so I can leave the hotel, so I don't feel like a second class person. #saudiarabia#equalrights
As environmental, social and humanitarian crises escalate, the world can no longer afford two things: first, the costs of economic inequality; and second, the rich.
"Severely disabled women are left out of conversations on Women’s Rights, and trans women are also excluded from these conversations. Be sure that we uplift these populations today."- Andrew Gurza
"Today [2018] 40 percent of millennials are parents, and, as parents, many hold neotraditionalist views of gender. Among millennial men without children, 35 percent believe women should 'take care of the home and children,' a nine-point increase above GenXers and a fourteen-point jump above men older than forty-five.
"...It should come as no surprise that millennial women report feeling more constrained by gender stereotypes...
A charming moment
"Ma'am you are plum purty"
A Southern journey
*A memory from my 20's. A cute little old man came up to me in a store and shyly said that to me. I thanked him and he went on his way. Growing up here, Ma'am is two syllables...lol