National Picnic, Barbecue, and Fireworks Day?

I suppose now is as good a time as any to call attention to one of Thomas Jefferson's most famous, yet tragically under-appreciated, writings -- the anniversary of which has been reduced to what I sadly refer to as “National Picnic, Barbecue, and Fireworks Day.” MOST folks in the U.S simply call it “the fourth of July” because they haven't the slightest clue as to just what it was our Founding Fathers signed on that day in 1776 beyond the “all men are created equal” and “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” parts. I am quick to correct them by telling them “It's INDEPENDENCE Day” -- that's what appears on most calendars in red ink. I mean, really, who ever says “Merry 25th of December” or “Happy First of January?”

It is my contention that the (white Christian) people of British America did not have it anywhere near as bad as people of ALL races and faiths do in the USA today.

In his essay, The Stylistic Artistry of the Declaration of Independence [featured at the National Archives web site], Stephen E. Lucas notes grievance 10:

“He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance.” ... The `multitude of New Offices' referred to the customs posts that had been created in the 1760s to control colonial smuggling. The `swarms of Officers' that were purportedly eating out the substance of the colonies' three million people numbered about fifty in the entire continent. But Congress could hardly assail George III as a tyrant for appointing a few dozen men to enforce the laws against smuggling, so it clothed the charge in vague, evocative imagery that gave significance and emotional resonance to what otherwise might have seemed a rather paltry grievance.”

So, a little basic arithmetic here:

3 million people then, 330 million people now = growth factor multiple of 110

If the “swarms of officers that harassed our people, and ate out their substance” grew at a rate equal to that of our population then that would amount to about 5500 customs agents (50 x 110). The issue was smuggling and more likely than not to avoid import duties (tariffs, taxes). So, I'll begin with everybody's favorite federal agency:

# of Employees

Internal Revenue Service: 74,454 (2019)
Department of Homeland Security (TSA, NSA, etc.): 229,000 (2017) > 240,000 (2018)
Department of Justice (FBI, DEA, U.S. Attorneys, etc.): 113,114 (2019)
Immigration and Customs Enforcement: > 20,000
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms: 5,101


Need I list more? The above adds up to 452,669 but there are many, MANY more -- not to mention state and local police and regulators. And, since the Posse Comitatus Act has essentially been nullified, you might as well factor in the Department of Defense and National Guard, too.

Therefore, in conclusion --and even low-balling the numbers to keep them simple-- whereas our population has grown by a factor of 110, the SWARMS OF OFFICERS brought on by MULTITUDES OF NEW OFFICES ---INCONCEIVABLE EVEN IN MR. JEFFERSON'S WORST NIGHTMARES--- have grown by a factor of NO LESS THAN TEN THOUSAND. Hmmm... what was it, again, that he wrote in his May 27, 1788 letter to Edward Carrington?

“The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield,

and government to gain ground.”

Just how much ground was he thinking of? Certainly not THAT MUCH!

And, to think, I'm ONLY discussing grievance 10 here. Our flag --not to mention the memory of all those who have fallen in combat defending it-- is being dishonored by “cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men” --and women-- who pose before it inside government buildings surrounded by barricades and armed guards in the District of Columbia and elsewhere. Stands to reason that those charlatans most likely think that President Washington's Farewell Address was a place where postal letter-carriers delivered his mail -- all the while perpetrating and perpetuating an ENDLESS "train of abuses and usurpations” (not to mention the imposition of ever-higher TAXES) that dwarf those suffered by the colonists in 18th Century British America which irrefutably constitute COUNTLESS situations of “dire distress” due to “extreme danger to life and property!” Therefore, as Florida's chief justice, the Honorable Gerald Kogan, presciently foresaw, LIBERTY FINALLY HAS FALLEN, it is entirely appropriate to display it with the “union down”

In compliance with Title 4 U.S. Code § 8(a)

(note: original date of this blog post unintentionally coincided with Flag Day)