Michael Moore’s July 4, 2022 Declaration
[Editor’s note: Progressive filmmaker Michael Moore, shortly after the latest mass shooting, this time during an Independence Day parade in Highland Park, IL, issued this declaration, in which among other things he says he “cannot in good conscience receive the privileges of full citizenship” give how many are treated unequally, none more so than women. […]
A Vision for 2045: Freedom for Children
Freedom for Children In 2045, the last frontier of human inequality will have vanished. Kids will be socially and legally known as the full equals to adults. Never again will we see a parent treating a beautiful toddler as a prisoner. Violence and domination that are illegal from adult to adult will also be illegal […]
Black Lives Matter Declaration — State of the Black Union (2015)
Editor’s Note: “We the People, committed to the declaration that Black lives matter, will fight to end the structural oppression that prevents so many from realizing their dreams. We cannot, and will not stop until America recognizes the value of Black life.” These two sentences conclude the first ‘State of the Black Union’, issued by […]
Declaration of the Provincial Congress of South Carolina to the Governour (June 20, 1775)
Editor’s Note: Breaking up with Britain was hard to do, as this somewhat ambivalent June 20, 1775 declaration attests (and as does Thomas Jefferson’s initial draft of ‘the’ Declaration of Independence). On the one hand, Charleston’s provincial Congress makes clear that it desires “nothing more ardently than a speedy reconciliation with our Mother Country upon constitutional […]
Police Constable Declaration in Britain and Wales (2002)
Editor’s note: According to law enforcement scholar Leonard Jason-Lloyd, this declaration, one of the key provisions of the Police Reform Act of 2002, is avowed to by each and every person newly appointed in Britain and Wales to serve as a constable (police officer). As is evident from the declaration, in the UK “the modern police officer does not have […]
African Declaration on Internet Rights and Freedoms (August, 28, 2014)
Editor’s Note: According to its website, this declaration represents “a Pan-African initiative to promote human rights standards and principles of openness in internet policy formulation and implementation on the continent,” with the intent of spelling out “the principles which are necessary to uphold human and people’s rights on the internet, and to cultivate an internet […]
Declaration of Internet Freedom (2012)
Editor’s Note: This declaration, which includes five core principles, was initially the brainchild of the U.S.-based advocacy group Free Press and the New America Foundation’s Open Technologies Institute. In short order, thousands of organizations, startup entrepreneurs and tech luminaries joined the Declaration of Internet Freedom bandwagon. One key aim is to secure millions of endorsements of the declaration on the […]
UN Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Nov. 20, 1963)
Editor’s Note: The adoption of this declaration over a half century ago by the United Nations General Assembly led to enactment of the binding International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, which took effect in 1969. All signatories to the agreement pledge both to do away with racial discrimination and build […]
The Unanimous Declaration of Youth of the United States of America of Independence from Fossil Fuels (July 4, 2013)
Editor’s note: After watching the documentary An Inconvenient Truth as a 12-year-old, Alec Loorz took it upon himself to galvanize youth to take a leading role in curbing our dependency on fossil fuels. He started a a nonprofit environmental organization for youth, Kids vs. Global Warming, and penned a compelling declaration of independence from fossil fuels. Alec crisscrossed the country to speak […]
“What is required is a new declaration of independence” — President-Elect Obama, Jan. 17, 2009
Editor’s note: On January 17, 2009, just three days before his first inauguration, President-elect Barack Obama called for “a new declaration of independence.” This isn’t the only time he’s harked back to the Declaration. ” In calling for the legalization of same sex marriages on June 4, 2013, he said, “It’s something that can be traced back […]
