Bloated bureaucracy encroaching our liberty

“He has erected a multitude of new offices and sent hither swarms of officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.”

“He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution and unacknowledged by our laws; giving assent to their acts of pretended legislation.”

“He has refused to assent to laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.”

“He has forbidden his governors to pass laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his assent should be obtained and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend them.”

Sound like the present administration in Washington? These are words from the Declaration of Independence citing grievances against the king.

How ironic! Recently we celebrated the Fourth of July, a celebration of freedom from tyranny and the recognition of individual rights. Now we in the 21st century are giving that freedom away. Our founders recognized tyranny when they saw and experienced it. Yet today we fail to recognize its fatal encroachment on our liberty. Power in the hands of a bloated bureaucracy, no matter how noble its cause, is dangerous.

Let's rid our country of this “fundamental change” in November. Only then can we have a true celebration of the Fourth of July.

William Peters

Cedar Rapids