A Declaration of Interdependence

JULY 4, 2018

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to Impeach their own President, a decent respect to the opinions of humankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men and women and gender-nonconforming individuals 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 Humans. But when a long train of abuses threatens to destroy a country so governed, it is the Electorate's right, it is their duty, to throw off the Executive, and to provide new Guards for their future security.

Such has been the patient sufferance of this Electorate. The history of the present President of the United States is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these People. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

* He has destroyed the alliances which have kept the world safe for more than half a century; and befriended despots, tyrants, and dictators.

* He has separated children from their parents and caused them to be jailed in dog kennels.

* He has obstructed the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither.

* He has defended the actions of racists and white separatists.

* He has encouraged violence against the Free Press, and declared reporters and journalists to be Enemies of the People.

* He has lied about the number of jobs created since his inauguration; lied about the size of crowds at his own inauguration and at campaign events occurring since; has falsely overestimated the size of our trade deficit with China; lied about money given to Iran as part of its nuclear deal; lied about crime in Germany; lied about the size of tax cuts; lied about voter fraud; lied about the amount of legislation his administration has passed.

* He has gotten basic facts wrong again and again and again, from the number of years President Roosevelt served in office to the name of the inventor of the assembly line. He appeared unaware that Frederick Douglass was not a living man.

* He has paid money to buy the silence of his former mistress, an actress in pornographic films.

* He has called for the jailing of political opponents for nonexistent crimes.

* He has misused the power of presidential pardon, wielding it not as an instrument of mercy but as a partisan scythe.

* Members of his campaign staff coordinated with Russia to affect the 2016 election; 20 individuals worldwide have thus far been indicted or pleaded guilty to malfeasance, including 14 Russian nationals, three Russian companies, one California man, and one London-based lawyer. Three of these individuals are former associates of the President.

* After his election and before his inauguration he paid $25 million to settle charges of fraud against his failed university.

* He has used his office to enrich himself and his family in violation of the Emoluments Clause of the United States Constitution.

* He has disrespected women repeatedly in a manner unbecoming of the chief executive: suggesting that one of the objects of his affections should be seized by her nether parts; mocking a female journalist for her menstrual cycle; calling a breastfeeding woman "disgusting;" suggesting he might date his own daughter.

* He has insulted on social media public and private figures and institutions, including members of both political parties, sports figures, the city of Brussels, the Super Bowl, Meryl Streep, Nordstrom, Colin Powell, and Snoop Dogg.

* He has cut off our Trade with many parts of the world, or established tariffs which will hinder economies both national and global;

* He has singled out transgender Americans and attempted to ban them from military service, in contraposition to the advice of virtually all military advisers.

* He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good;

* He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavored to encourage the merciless National Rifle Association, whose only objective is an undistinguished arming of all ages, sexes, and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms. Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injurious tweets.

A Buffoon whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Narcissist is unfit to be the ruler of a free people. And while the President was elected by a minority of the Electorate, in coordination with a foreign power, he has governed not as the leader of all the people, but only as the leader of those who pay him fealty. He has divided us, one against the other, thus rending the fabric of the civil life of the country irrevocably, turning neighbors against each other; sundering parent from child; and making old friends into enemies.

He has committed treason by his devious and incessant attempts to separate these People into camps of partisans who have forgotten the love that should bind us together in eternal and respectful friendship.

We therefore do solemnly publish and declare that the inhabitants of United States are and of Right ought to be Interdependent upon One Another; that they are Absolved from allegiance to a Tyrant who would drive us asunder. And that the President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, should henceforward be impeached from office for high crimes and misdemeanors, including abuse of authority, intimidation, misuse of assets, failure to supervise, dereliction of duty, and unbecoming conduct.

And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

JENNIFER BOYLAN is the Anna Quindlen Writer in Residence at Barnard College of Columbia University, a board of trustees member at PEN America, and a contributing opinion writer for The New York Times.JenniferBoylan.net