Inspired by the words of Thomas Paine, the new nation's leaders sought to resolve grievances with the government to allow the citizenry to live free from tyranny, while remaining true to the concepts of civil rights and individual liberty.

James Madison, in his letter of October 24, 1787 to Thomas Jefferson voiced concerns: "a majority... united by a common interest or a passion cannot be constrained from oppressing the minority." His words have now been proven justified.  

In writing the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson, guided by Thomas Paine's 'Common Sense', laid out the grievances against the king, many of which have now been foisted upon us by our current rulers.

President Obama, with new found empowerment from his recent victory, now has the flexibility he sought, without the constraints of seeking reelection. The result will be a more all encompassing government ruled by those who favor state control.

Looking closer at Jefferson's grievances, which the patriots were willing to die for, we see that we have now fallen into that which Madison feared; Oppression by the majority abetted by a government which is now "but a necessary evil."

One has to wonder if President Jefferson would have had the same response to the actions taken today by this administration, as well as by those who have enabled these actions:

"forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance" -- The Justice Department has continually fought actions by individual states, not just on immigration control, but on photo ID laws ruled constitutional by the Supreme Court.

"endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners" -- Amnesty is now the agenda. Illegal residents are rarely deported by those pandering for votes. Our borders seemingly no longer serve the purpose intended.

"obstructed the Administration of Justice" -- Inspector General Gerald Walpin was fired for seeking criminal prosecution of Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, an Obama supporter. J. Christopher Adams was forced from office for seeking actions against Black Panther Militants for their election-day intimidation tactics of white voters. This election saw a return of this, as well as Republican poll watchers forcibly removed from polling stations. Members of the Justice Department Civil Rights Division, have, as stated by Mr. Adams; "abetted wrongdoing and abandoned law-abiding citizens". Statists have joined in a vendetta attacking Mr. Adams for daring to give voice to the injustices he witnessed.

"erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people" -- Obamacare provides for 16,000 new IRS agents to ensure our obedience. The president has appointed 43 "czars" of which 33 were not subject to Senate approval. The EPA is now used as a tool to punish enemies of the state such as Arch Coal, BP and Shell.

"affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power" - In June of 2011 the President overruled lawyers from the Justice Department and the Pentagon to arbitrarily declare his authority to continue the air war in Libya without congressional approval.

"combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution" -- UN Agenda 21 is being implemented across the country with over 500 participating cities. Members of the Supreme Court look towards foreign laws for guidance; "I frankly don't understand all the brouhaha ... about referring to foreign law," -- Justice Ginsburg.

"imposing Taxes on us without our Consent" -- ObamaCare was passed against the will of the people on the grounds that it was not a tax, the Supreme Court ruled otherwise, resulting in celebrations by the statists. The law was not even read by many members of Congress who voted to impose their will upon us.

"depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury" -- For the first time in history a president has authorized the detention, without trial, of people suspected of aiding and abetting terrorism, an action strongly opposed in the Senate, as well as by the ACLU. Basseley Youssef, arrested in the dead of night by police, acting at the request of federal authorities, is accused of making a film, which was blamed for the Benghazi attack, the claim, false when made, has now been fully disproven. Mr. Youssef remains jailed on charges of "parole violation."

"excited domestic insurrections amongst us. -- Last year the Occupy Wall Street crowd , encouraged by Democrat leaders, such as Nancy Pelosi, or Democrat favoring organizations such as Moveon.org willfully interfered with the civil rights of others while committing hundreds of illegal acts throughout the country. In Oakland, California of 400 protestors arrested on a variety of charges such as resisting arrest, vandalism, public urination, theft, refusal to disperse, sexual assaults as well as others, yet only 8 faced charges while cases dropped against the others. 

By their concurrence with the above actions, those who enable government control as preferred policy have fallen guilty to abetting government tyranny over the minority.

Thomas Paine in 'Common Sense' described this reasoning as "A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right."

The focus of the government today seems to be an increase towards largesse; looking for ways to provide financial support, yet avoiding the encouragement of personal responsibility. This represents a very generous attitude on the part of the electorate.

Yet how can one justify generosity towards others when said generosity is enforced by threat of law?

Thomas Jefferson expressed the unacceptability of tyranny in the Declaration of Independence, a document whose importance was summarized by Abraham Lincoln: "our fathers brought forth, upon this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that 'all men are created equal'."  

Today Mr. Jefferson would likely not be pleased with what the nation has become, as liberty has been eroded, equality has been set aside, preferences have risen to the forefront.

The direction taken by those leading our nation not only lacks common sense, it is also a departure from 'Common Sense'.

It is imperative for the future of our nation that we decide now: Are we to be a nation based on the Constitution, or are we to be a nation based on forced largesse of the minority by an overreaching majority?

A study of history would clearly indicate where Madison, Jefferson, Paine as well as the others would have stood. Unfortunately, history seems to not be part the curriculum.