Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence, wrote in 1789, “There are rights which it is useless to surrender to the government, and which governments have yet always been found to invade. These are the rights of thinking, and publishing our thoughts by speaking or writing; the right of free commerce; the right of personal freedom.” To interject politics on this holy anniversary of the American Revolution, it would be fantastic if one of the “old” Oregon political parties truly adhered to the above principles of personal and economic liberty and limited government. However, as one honestly surveys the partisan horizon, it is apparent: A difference in degrees is not a difference in kind. The question is, are they Demopublicans or Republicrats? Regardless, I say, to honor the revolutionary spirit of the Founding Fathers (and Mothers), “Don’t Tread on Me.”