Helga Zepp-LaRouche, founder of the international Schiller Institute, addressed the attendees of the July 5 Diane Sare for President conference entitled, ‘America 250—A Rededication’, held in Philadelphia.
Zepp-LaRouche began her remarks by congratulating the organizers of the conference, which was in stark contrast to the banal and superficial orientation of most ‘official’ national celebrations, emphasizing the importance of reviving the principles of the American Revolution, not only for America, but for pulling the world back from the precipice of an abyss which would be precipitated by a global thermonuclear war.
She summarized how the real America isn’t fully understood or known by her citizens, citing how the Revolution is usually portrayed as being run by wealthy elites who committed atrocities to hold their power, and how today, a small percentage of young Americans understand the meaning of the semi quincentennial and the Constitution.
She cited how revolutionary the Declaration of Independence was for its time, given that the ideas of the ‘self-evidence’ of the equality of all mankind; that a government rules by the consent of the governed, and that the ‘inalienable rights’ of the population include, Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness—were absolutely not ‘evident’ nor agreed upon by the British oligarchy in particular, and the oligarchy at large globally. They reacted swiftly and violently to such ‘absurd’ concepts.
But, Zepp-LaRouche noted, these revolutionary ideas weren’t new with the American Revolution, but had been promoted by the great scientist and philosopher, Cardinal Nicholas of Cusa (1401-1464), who first promoted these ideas in his writings, and especially in his major work, Concordantia Catholica, written in 1434—nearly 343 years before the founding of America.
She read extensive quotes to clarify for the audience how America’s most fundamental concepts actually extend far back into history. For example, regarding the idea of the consent of the governed being primary, she read from the ’Concordantia’ (Book II, Chapter XIV):
“All Legislation is based on Natural Law. Since by Nature we are all equally free, all coercive power is derived from the election and consent of the subjects.The Jurisdiction such created is not valid in itself unless it is in Accordance with the law and Canon.”
