Swarms of Officers

On every Fourth of July, since 1776, our nation celebrates its independence from the King of Great Britain who's tyrannous rule was best characterized in our Declaration of Independence as:

a long train of abuses and usurpations... to reduce [the states] under absolute Despotism...

and

repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States.

Not to mention one of the chief complaints giving cause to declare their independence which was recorded in that document was:

He has ... sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people.

Now, I'm not saying that our government is doing the same, but while reading an article this morning, it reminded me of that last sentence about swarms of officers:

In the nation's capital, security will be heightened on the National Mall as organizers seek to reassure visitors following recent attempted car bombings in Britain.

 

Park Police and 20 other law enforcement agencies will flood the area with officers and high-tech security devices, U.S. Park Police Chief Dwight E. Pettiford said. A police helicopter will monitor crowds from above.

 

As with past July 4 festivities since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the mall will be fenced off and visitors will be required to pass through security checkpoints. Police said the 19 checkpoints will open at 10 a.m. and have been widened this year to eliminate potential bottlenecks.

So, if you're visiting the nation's capital, or any of the other major city's fireworks displays around these united States, enjoy the show, and be grateful of your independence from oppressive, tyrannical government.

 

BONUS: Yahoo! News also has this video about the added security forces:

Security tight for nation's holiday

Special officers armed with weapons and dogs are on duty around airports, subways and bus stops for the July Fourth holiday.

I guess the correct question to ask is: are the officers protecting the innocent from evildoers, or are they protecting government from the people?

 

P.S. It's always been a pet peeve of mine when people celebrate "the Fourth of July". To be clear, you are not celebrating a day, you are celebrating an event: the declaration of our independence from bad government. The linked article from above made this mistake in its title, "Nation celebrates 4th of July".