OPINION:
The American Revolution was something of a mockery of fact and truth. In their dispute with King George III, the revolutionaries imagined a host of grievances that were not of much substance. After all, who doesn’t have some complaints regarding whomever is governing them?
The biggest complaint was a tax that was imposed on them because of the French and Indian wars. The monarch reasoned that these costs should be paid by those who benefited from them the most: the colonists.
The colonists, as history tells, disagreed, so they had a well-publicized tea party. What has never been clear is why they thought the tax was unfair and who they thought should pay for the costs of those wars. This sounds familiar in modern times, as many people now believe that they shouldn’t have to pay taxes, as the argument goes, just to support a government.
Today America is reaping what our Founders sowed so long ago: a slow disintegration of our political system by an ideology that now believes in no governance at all. Some scholars believe that this was inevitable, that the roots of revolution sowed in 1776 would eventually reemerge and challenge the status quo.
That, as this political year is proving, is now happening
MICHAL BETZ
Wichita, Kan.
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