23/06/2025
Ben Franklin speaks
In case you missed Ben Franklin’s thought-provoking speech at the June 14 No Kings rally in Ajijic, here is the complete text, kindly provided by doppelgänger speaker Steve Nousen:
Good afternoon Patriots.
Kings! I have a lifetime of experience fighting Kings; I lived under the rule of three English Kings: George I, George II, and finally, George III.
I am proud to be one of the authors of the Declaration of Independence. Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and I drafted this sacred document to rid ourselves of the tyranny of King George III, and to ensure that the United States would never be ruled by a King.
Please allow me to read excerpts from our Declaration of Independence:
In Congress, July 4, 1776
The unanimous declaration of the thirteen United States of America.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men 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.
Whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it, and to institute a new government.
But when a long train of abuses and usurpations evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their Right, it is their Duty, to throw off such government.
The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having the direct object of absolute tyranny over these states. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has made judges dependent on his will alone. He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hither swarms of officers to harass our people. He has kept among us, in times of peace, standing armies. He has cut off trade with all parts of the world, imposed taxes on us without our consent. He deprived us, in many cases, of the right to a trial by jury. He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us.
A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
The 55 men who joined me in signing our Declaration of Independence were, in the eyes of King George III, committing treason. Some of our friends and neighbors, and even my own son, agreed with the tyrant. But the signers believed so strongly in our cause that we closed the document with these words: “We mutually pledge to each other Our Lives, Our Fortunes, and Our Sacred Honor.”
We did our part. The present question is: What will you do to fight tyranny?
Thank you for your attention. Good day, Patriots.
