dig.nify magazine Summer 2026 | Page 19

denying those citizens and others due process.

This is beyond the pale. These are nothing less than intentional terroristic acts conducted by the paramilitary groups against the citizenry with knowing approval of the Administration, designed to strike such fear that the protesters

will slink away in hopes of saving themselves and their families. And the Administration even goes so far as to double-down on this approach, engaging more than a hundred million dollars to recruit even more of the same, using white supremacist rhetoric and marketing to entice such thugs to their cause. It is shameful, and it evidences how far they are

willing to go.

It is for this reason that Americans cannot wait,

or hope and pray that elected officials will come

to their senses and do something about the situation. Hope and prayer, although powerful actions within which to engage on a personal level with God or other spiritual guides, are neither a solution nor a strategy for collective action. Too much damage is being done and will be done by waiting, hoping, and praying. Failure to act now will only further set the stage for outright domination and total oppression.

V

Taking Back Power

This leaves no other option than for Americans to now take matters into their own hands and bring this government down. It is a right the people hold. Lest you forget again: it was these words that caused our founding and which in turn give us permission to renew our path:

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, Governments 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, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.18

It would be wise at this time to remember and engage these words, because these are words of power and promise which remain as powerful and promising today as when they were first written. But equally, if they are to be taken seriously as offering a powerful solution to our contemporary needs, it is necessary to move beyond the fact these words were written by but a few members of the society, a group of educated white men, and not women, native peoples, Blacks, or other minorities. To dismiss the power and promise of these words because only a select few wrote them would be to deny the opportunities such words granted to so many aligned with these and other groups across time to the present. It is also to dismiss the long history that underpins these words and the historical debate that created a more expansive and inclusive meaning.

So, yes, it must be acknowledged the men who crafted those words were hardly indicative of the entire population. They were white, well educated, and privileged. Many if not most owned and traded other human beings as their property, as slaves. They also believed women, not to mention native peoples or Blacks, had no standing and thus no right to be present or participate in such discussions. These facts can neither be ignored or dismissed, nor should they be used – as does the tyrant’s second-in-command – to suggest there is a group of people in American known and labeled as ‘Heritage Americans’19 who hold a special place in our history because of their deep roots in colonial America and whom we should in turn accord certain rights that would be denied to other peoples in the country, as that is a policy grounded in outright racism, being focused as it is on ancestry and not ideals. Instead, despite who these people were and what positions were taken, it must also be acknowledged the words they crafted embraced a more expansive understanding of those discriminated against, thereby holding out promise to all.

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