To the editor:
My late husband, Robert M. Giveen, wrote this letter, titled “From tyranny to tyranny,” to The Times Record in 1976. I believe it remains valid today.
As we start our observance of the bicentennial of the United States, perhaps we should consider how far we have come in 200 years.
On April 19, 1775, British troops left Boston to seize arms belonging to the colonials at Concord, thus precipitating the first battle of the Revolution. Today we have the Gun Control Act of 1968 at the federal level, and the state of Massachusetts has just put into effect the most oppressive anti-gun law in American history. Progress?
In 1775, the American colonies were ruled by royal governors appointed by the Crown, without the consent, and often strongly against the wishes of, the governed.
Today we are ruled (pardon, “governed” is the polite term) by a president and a vice president, neither of whom was elected to office, but appointed and confirmed without giving any voice to the people. Progress?
In 1775, the colonies complained of excessive taxation, and particularly that they had no representation in the taxing bodies. Much of the taxes went to support the English nobility who performed no useful service in return for their luxurious style of living.
Today, we are taxed at a level that would have made old George III blush for shame. Much of the money obtained from taxes goes to support a huge federal bureaucracy, most of which is useless if not actually harmful to the best interests of the country.
More goes to support welfare recipients who are perfectly capable of working but prefer not to. (I do not refer at all to those unable to support themselves.) Still more goes to maintain our so-called representatives in a truly royal style.
So we have come full circle, from tyranny through a time of freedom back to tyranny again. Unless the American people wake up and show the dedication that our ancestors did two hundred years ago, we will go ever deeper until we lose all hope of recovering our freedom.
Nancy Giveen
Brunswick
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