Myths of the most consequential country in history: Independence Day may be a time to dispassionately reflect on some of our legacy beliefs

American Thinker ^ | 07/04/2024 | Noel S. William

[SeekAndFind]

Biden’s campaign just released an ad to sow more Dem discord following the reasonable SCOTUS presidential immunity ruling. The mangled message of the “250 Years” ad is that for the first time in nearly 250 years the president is above the law -- that he is essentially a king. In their perverted minds, Donald J. Trump could be unbound when he returns to the White House.

Of course, that’s unfounded fearmongering -- we already had him for four great years (COVID notwithstanding). In reality, it is Joe Biden who has been unbound, and unable, and unadvised, and unaware, and “un” just about everything. But this Independence Day (and subsequent weekend) period may be a time to dispassionately reflect on some of our legacy beliefs, including the tyranny of King George III, to whom they implicitly compared “above-the-law” Trump.

First, consider the legacy belief instilled by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s embellished account of Paul Revere’s Midnight Ride, which still pervades our national consciousness.

It’s unlikely that Paul Revere exclaimed, “The British are coming, the British are coming,” for they were already here. Everywhere. Besides, why attract attention to himself during a clandestine mission to alert people in Lexington? Revere (one of three midnight riders who warned of British troop movements that night) admitted that he dodged British troops.

The Boston Tea Party is also shrouded in myths. It was contemporaneously denounced by George Washington, declaring the hooligans as criminals. Benjamin Franklin insisted the perpetrators, who chucked a bunch of perfectly good tea into the water, reimburse the owners.

Perhaps the most consequential of our legacy beliefs (or is that myths?) is that the Last King of America, King George III, was an irredeemable tyrant. Sure, the American patriots passed him off as such, for that served their just revolution.

[SeekAndFind]

The author claims that King George III’s tyrannical reputation was exaggerated.

Considering his debilitating madness, George III wasn’t such a bad chap, especially by the standards of the time. He acted as a constitutional monarch supporting the initiatives of his ministers.

Per Andrew Roberts, author of The Last King of America, he was a “good-natured, enlightened constitutional monarch, who inconveniently for the Founders also genuinely admired the Glorious Revolution of 1688 as much as they did.”

[dfwgator]

Eventually they will refer to Independence Day as a “Right-Wing Holiday”.

[Mr. Jeeves]

It’s unlikely that Paul Revere exclaimed, “The British are coming, the British are coming,” for they were already here.

I thought I read that his actual cry was "The regulars are out!"

[cowboyusa]

This garbage does not belong on American Thinker.

[SeekAndFind]

RE: This garbage does not belong on American Thinker.

Can you please cite a few of the garbage mentioned in this article? Thanks.

[BlueLancer]

I thought I read that his actual cry was "The regulars are out!"

I'd read the same or similar ... either "The regulars are out!" or "The regulars are coming!"

[cowboyusa]

King George THe Third WAS a Tyrant, his forces try trying to take British Americans guns.

[SeekAndFind]

King George III was already suffer from a delibitating mental illness then. As his illness worsened, he likely became less involved in governing. This could have created a power vacuum, with advisors and Parliament wielding more influence.

Historians debate how much George III’s mental state directly affected the American Revolution. Some argue his declining health might have weakened Britain’s response to colonial grievances.

His illness may have created an environment where Parliament held more sway, potentially leading to some of the colonists’ grievances.

[Paal Gulli]

"...Considering his debilitating madness, George III wasn’t such a bad chap,...

1. George III's "madness" didn't become perpetual until 1788.

2. Between 1760 and 1776, the colonies tried repeatedly to rid themselves of the institution of slavery. As alluded to by T. Jefferson in his first draft of the Declaration of Independence, each effort was thwarted by George III and/or his cabinet. So the reason slavery was so entrenched in the original states, the reason their economies were so dependent slave labor, the reason they could not afford the manumission of all their enslaved Africans without equitable remuneration, was interference from the British monarch.

All of which leads directly to a War Between the States.

Thanks, Georgie!

[Albion Wilde]

bump