The Declaration of Interdependence on the 249th birthday of the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America

When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for all people to recognize that we cannot long endure living only for ourselves. Economic and political self-interest alone cannot long endure. What each of us does affects everyone else whether it be in commerce, climate, agriculture, or international relations.

We still hold these truths to be self-evident that all people are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among peoples, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.

However, when the government only represents the voice of the powerful, only represents the needs of wealthy, only perpetuates its own interests, we need to rise as voters to put into authority those who would truly represent the interests of all of us, rich and poor, young and old, black and brown and yellow and white, regardless of religion or national origin or gender or any other identity. When only the rich and powerful truly have a voice in our elections and into the making of policy, how can we put into place systems that are equitable? When decisions are based on intimidation rather than persuasion, when ideas hold sway based on who has the most economic influence rather than on who has the best ideas, when generational wealth has been denied to segments of our population because of race and economic disadvantage, how can we insure opportunity for all?

We, therefore, as the moral inheritors of the promise of this great nation conceived almost 250 years ago by the Second Continental Congress gathered in Philadelphia, declare that we are absolutely interdependent, that we need each other, not just to survive but to thrive. That what is done to the least of us is done to all of us. That we should seek to build one another up, to seek the common good for all of the people, not just of this nation, but of this world. Systems, then, need to be revised to insure equity and justice for all people.