The Declaration of Independence. Striking Parallels Between the American Revolution and the War in Ukraine

Culture and elites. The key factor.

The historical background of the US struggle for independence is strangely reminiscent of the conditions in which Ukraine is actually fighting for its independence from the Russian-Soviet empire. The fundamental difference between the US situation then and the current Ukrainian situation is the absence of elites, in Ukraine in particular. People’s or national elites. Who are they?

Those who have sufficient culture, and thus education and worldview, to see the broader picture of the nation’s existence in the context of the global community, as well as in accordance with the fundamental laws of the universe. They have no fear of survival, which means no instinct to row everything under. High culture and its values shape the need and purpose of leaders to serve higher values. Values that are greater than their own body and personal gain. Culture is not knowledge. It is not studied. It is experienced. And it turns into experience. Into the essence of a person. High culture is above the animal level. Low culture is a strain in a petri dish.

It is very sad to see such phenomena as the Ministry of Culture, pathetic attempts to impose ideological clichés. Because culture begins with a child. Children’s fairy tales, principles of life, behavioural skills, practices, physical and spiritual, which are passed on from childhood. The child of the elite receives an insane, incredible amount of conscious attention and love. Therefore, they have greater opportunities to become elite. A child of a family that has to struggle to survive is much less likely to do so. This child is given attention by the street, at best by the harmonious nature of the environment. The child of a farmer can be a wonderful person, but it takes generations to reach the level of the elite. The Soviet system realised the dream of elitism of ordinary people, giving rise to a terrible social monster and entire generations of psychologically immature masses. Remember: “Are you the smartest? Do you need the most?”

Nature often takes a rest on the children of modern successful people. These unfortunate children are deprived of the attention and love of their business-minded parents. Despite their wealth, these children actually have to survive, because the feeling of love is hard to buy with money. That is why the degradation of elites has taken place in the modern business society. The degradation is slower, of a slightly different type than in the savage Soviet system. But it has happened. That is what we are witnessing.

The success of the US revolution was made possible only by the ability of the elites to see the big picture, to realise the need to unite around values higher than just victory and survival. The success of the US revolution was possible only because that initial community included representatives of the true elite. Planters, slave owners. But people whose culture had higher values. And this allowed America to take place.

Ukraine, over and over again, has been trying to take place since the post-Stordinian occupation.

Analysing the course of the American War of Independence and the declaration of US independence, I draw your attention to the army, the government and the social value that Americans themselves consider to be the main one. This war is described in detail in many sources, including in Ukrainian. But it would be a big mistake to forget the key role of the elites. A huge one.

Ukraine is still trying to rebuild itself. And it is not dead yet.

Is it possible for Ukraine to take place? Yes, it is. If the new elites manage to formulate the goal of a new society. A separate article is being written about this. For now, I ask you to draw parallels.

The US Revolutionary Army during the War of Independence was mostly voluntary.

“The U.S. Revolutionary Army during the War of Independence was largely voluntary.

The military structure known as the Continental Army consisted of volunteers and conscripts. It was not a regular army in the modern sense, as most of its soldiers were volunteers who served for a short time or until the end of the war.

In addition to the Continental Army, there were also local militias during the war, such as state militias, which, although more organised, were also largely volunteer.

In contrast to the Continental Army and the state militia, the regular army was a permanent structure that existed before the War of Independence.”

(Google AI review for “US Revolutionary Army regular or volunteer”)

Without a regular army, victory would have been problematic,
but Commander in Chief Washington managed to

to keep Congress, the army, the French, the militia, and the states on the same page on the way to a common goal. Washington voluntarily resigned and disbanded the army after the war was won, thus establishing the principle of civilian supremacy in military affairs forever. However, he tirelessly repeated that a well-disciplined professional soldier is twice as valuable as a mistake-prone amateur, and this helped to overcome ideological distrust of the military

(Wikipedia)

The beginning of the Moscow-Ukraine war was blessed by the unprecedented unity of Ukrainian society. Volunteers at the front, volunteers in the rear, the state apparatus in hiding and abroad. The US Liberation Army was also largely volunteer. People went to war knowing why they were going there. According to the literature, the trust in the commander-in-chief, George Washington, was enormous. That’s where the similarities ended.

We also need a regular, trained, well-supplied army. But we have an army that is largely slave-like, i.e. of the Soviet model, and society is increasingly losing the sense of purpose and expediency of fighting for such a state, because business values in the army and in the government, their belief in bitcoin, for some reason do not inspire society.

Happiness is the holy of holies of the revolutionary doctrine of the Declaration of Independence

The fact that the former British colonies were proclaimed independent sovereign states (the creation of the United States as a single federal republic would take place with the entry into force of the Constitution of 1787) was an event of exceptional importance not only for the Americans themselves, but also for the world. However, the Declaration’s provisions on people, society and the state were no less important.

The second part of the Declaration began simply and solemnly: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal and endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

..

In assessing the historical significance of the document, American scholars have noted the importance of the “pursuit of happiness” clause.

“It is the idea of the human right to the pursuit of happiness that constitutes the holy of holies of the revolutionary doctrine of the Declaration of Independence; it is this idea, with its added grandeur and eternal general form, that makes the document full of deep meaning and exciting for all time.”

(History of the State and Law. Multimedia manual of the National Academy of Internal Affairs of Ukraine)

Even without knowing this aspect of the revolutionary doctrine before, we, as the editorialboard of the site, recognise that the pursuit of happiness is the best guide for the society of the future!

The assessment given by American (not British) scholars suggests that the United States did have an elite brought up on higher worldview values. Although these values did not apply to women and slaves, times have changed. Women in Ukraine have always been independent, and we have yet to overcome the gene of slavery.

It is the duty of the people to overthrow an unwanted government!

The Declaration’s provision that the people not only have the right to overthrow an unwanted government, but also have the duty to do so in certain circumstances, was also of crucial importance.

(History of the State and Law. Multimedia manual of the National Academy of Internal Affairs of Ukraine)

The Revolution of Dignity in Ukraine also led to a change of government. However, in the absence of national elites, the governance system actually slipped into oligarchy, or rather into a more primitive feudalism. This happened because Ukraine as a state, as a mechanism and structure, has neither a goal nor a strategy.

I personally believe that overthrowing the government does not make much sense. We need a goal. Something to fight for, not against. If there is a goal, there is a chance for the government to change and promote change. And if there is no goal, the government will not help. No government at all. Either we agree on our goal (there is even a hint), or we are heading for someone else’s. If we don’t have our own minds, we will live by someone else’s.

This site was created to stimulate discussion about the purpose and concept of a renewed Ukraine, which is called not just a state, but a Republic. It is not a recipe, but a direction in which to move. And it is interesting that this direction is in many ways similar to that of the early United States.

Governments tend to disarm the people. But the US elites had the courage and consciousness to change! And the elites of Ukraine?

The US victory over England was a turning point in the American Revolution. Since then, its ruling force, the bourgeoisie and large landowners, have sought to disarm the revolutionary army. In September 1786, the first major armed uprising of American workers took place under the leadership of Daniel Shays. They demanded a complete redistribution of land and “its free distribution, a radical reorganisation of the courts and administrative bodies, and the cancellation of public and private debts. The rebels destroyed the debt receipts of the poor in the courts and released debtors from prison. The uprising was brutally suppressed. But the frightened bourgeoisie and planters decided to change the state system.

On the morning of 29 May 1787, 55 delegates from 12 states gathered at the State House in Philadelphia. They arrived in the capital to, in the words of George Washington, “bring the revolution to a happy conclusion“. Created to protect the interests of the ruling classes, the Constitution could not but reflect the spirit of the American Revolution. It became an outstanding document of its time, consolidating the bourgeois-republican system in the United States.

(History of the State and Law. Multimedia manual of the National Academy of Internal Affairs of Ukraine)

This “…decided to change the state system” did not happen without a delicate reminder of the rebellious American workers.

Serhiy Datsyuk said that there are examples in history of elites suddenly deciding to change. I don’t know if our elites (we have what we have) will decide to change. If they did, it would save a lot of lives, time and money. And it would be a truly heroic act.

And the war would have come to a happy ending. To the end of the old imperial history and the beginning of the society of the future!