On October 19, 2021, the New York City Council voted unanimously to remove a seven-foot statue of Thomas Jefferson from their chambers in City Hall.  The statue, which is a replica of the bronze sculpture that stands in the U.S. Capitol, has been in the council chambers since 1915 and in other locations within New York's City Hall for over 100 years.  It was originally a gift given to City Hall in 1833 by a former New York naval officer, Uriah Phillips Levy, who was one of the first Jewish officers to serve in the U.S. military.  Levy funded this statue for the purposes of commemorating Jefferson's support of religious freedom in the U.S. military.

The vote to remove the statue was driven by Black, Latino, and Asian representatives on the council motivated by their desire to rid the chamber of a statue that represented a man with a history as a slaveholder, who expressed opinions about the superiority of Whites over Blacks and had a long-term relationship with Sally Hemings, who was one of his slaves.

The man the NYC Council attempted to cancel was an American Founding Father, elected the third president of the U.S., served as our first secretary of state under George Washington, and was the principal author of the Declaration of Independence.  It is ironic that these radical left-leaning NYC council members decided to act against the author of one of the most important political documents defining the meaning of freedom in the history of the world.

The principles set forth in the Declaration of Independence which was authored primarily by Thomas Jefferson are as relevant today as back in 1776 and they continue to define the spirit and foundations of freedom which most Americans and many others around the world still abide by. It can be said the American way of life is based on the principles of Jefferson's Declaration of Independence and its companion document - the U.S. Constitution.

The Declaration of Independence presented the proposition that all men are created equal and defined the rights of men as derived from God.  Jefferson wrote these unalienable rights of men included life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness with a government's ability to rule as being reliant on the consent of the people.  Jefferson wrote when these conditions cease to be true and governments become destructive, the people have the right and obligation to change it or abolish it. 

The Declaration of Independence was a call to action for the citizens of the thirteen colonies in 1776 to sever their political ties to Great Britain.  This underlying justification for this action according to Thomas Jefferson was the increasing imposition of autocratic rule by the British government, resulting in the violation of the rights of colonial citizens. 

Currently, recently released public political opinion polls from many sources demonstrate the historical and rapid decline in popularity of the Biden administration.  These numbers clearly reflect a rejection by most Americans of the extreme move to the left by the current administration and today's Democrat party.  It also indicates the widespread perception of a rise in tyranny in our country and a significant loss of political and economic freedom and control of Americans over their daily lives.  

Today's Biden administration meets Jefferson's standards outlined in the Declaration of Independence by the administration's imposition of autocratic rule, becoming increasingly dangerous and losing the consent of the people.  We are at the point at which it is imperative for the average American to stand up by using the power at his disposal to counter the rapid decline of our country's fortunes.  The people called to act are popularly known as the deplorables, who constitute the working and middle classes of this country.

Martin Luther King, Jr., as a proponent of nonviolent resistance, stated that it was the most potent weapon available to oppressed people in their struggle for freedom.  The deplorables should use similar methods to those used by a leader who succeeded against a powerful enemy without the need to resort to violence.  For Martin Luther King, Jr. nonviolent resistance took on many forms as the most prominent leader of the civil rights movement geared to change the legal and economic status of black Americans in this country.

He was engaged in an extended fight against racism, discrimination, and poverty from 1955 to his death by assassination in 1968.  He succeeded in changing America forever in profound ways through his use of various tactics and campaigns utilizing nonviolent resistance.  His belief that this country could live up to the promise of one of America's founding documents authored by Thomas Jefferson stating that all men were created equal encouraged him on his extended path forward.  Along the way, his campaign of nonviolent resistance attracted large numbers of participants from all walks of life, and this made the movement that much more powerful and effective.  His success offers the proper example of how the deplorables should take action.

Our Constitution was conceived on the foundation of federalism, which created a political system where power is shared between the national and state governments.  This permits state and local officials and various grassroots private organizations to take action to counter the tyrannical acts of the Biden administration.

While there is an extensive agenda of issues to address, the COVID-19 vaccine mandates with their power to subjugate our citizens is the most important target to focus on.  For example, Governor Ron DeSantis signed four bills limiting COVID-19 vaccine mandates in Florida.  Governors and state attorneys general can greatly assist in this fight by introducing legislation and litigation to overturn the Biden COVID-19 vaccine mandates in their localities.

On a grassroots level, the deplorables are increasing their efforts through numerous coalitions, movements, and alliances to do their part of countering the other side, using many of the same methods learned from the civil rights movement.  The deplorables possess important advantages in this fight due to the sheer numbers of people they represent and the various critical positions they hold in what are considered many of our most essential institutions.  Without the deplorable workers such as police, fire, health care professionals, transportation workers, and so on, this country would cease to function in short order.  That is a great deal of potential power to leverage on the side of fighting to maintain the American way of life.

It has been decided by the NYC City Council that the Jefferson statue will be moved to the N.Y. Historical Society, a prominent private museum located in Manhattan.  The statue in its new location will be a reminder to all future visitors of the words written about freedom and the unalienable rights of man derived from God that appear in the Declaration of Independence.  They have inspired people who cherish and are willing to fight on behalf of freedom through the ages, including MLK Jr., and now our nation's rapidly emerging front-line freedom fighters: the deplorables.

Written by K.S. Guardiola who blogs at "Set the Record — Right!" at rightquestions.blog and can be reached at deplorableurbanite@rightquestions.blog.

Image via Pixabay.

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