Labyrinthe du Coeur

All experience hath shown, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. Thomas Jefferson was appointed by the Second Continental Congress to forge a document that would stand to declare the encroachments and sufferings that his people, the people he wished to represent and declare independence for, under tyranny, were being constrained to endure. The people of the thirteen American colonies, after long usurpations of their freedom, decided it was time to fight to regain that freedom. After a long time of sufferance at the expense of their life, liberty, and their right to pursue happiness, they acknowledged the duty they were responsible of, to throw off such a governing body. All those subject to such despotism and domination were ready to forfeit their lives, fortunes, and honor for the mere hint of a chance at freedom from their oppressor. The declaration of independence hereafter presented to you is not an example of dissolution of a political bond, or even a separation from a tyrannous king ruling from afar. This following declaration is an assertion of freedom, for the large majority of humanity that is utterly controlled by a substance that knows no law and answers to no master. This is a “Declaration of Life.”

When in the course of human life, it becomes necessary for mankind to take back what is rightfully theirs, the gift of health, clean air, and control over their actions, taken away by the gaseous poisons of cigarette smoke and the addictive nicotine contained within, either via their own personal dissolution of such an oppressive bond, or through the willingness to help guide another member of the human race to independence, and in any such case the real desire to be free must exist, the first step is to acknowledge the voice of the inner light of health and freewill calling out, and to declare the motivations which will compel the suffering individual to take back what is rightfully theirs, no matter how hard this evil struggles to keep control over its victim. Hereafter is the Declaration of Life, for everyone struggling to be free from the oppression of the habit of cigarette smoking.

We, victims of the tobacco industry, hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men and women are created equal in the eyes of mother earth and the divine wow, that we as beings born with freewill, created in beauty and optimum health, are endowed by essence to be free of addiction, and blessed with the gift of oxygen-rich, toxin-free, clean air. We powerful, beautiful, divine beings are in essence responsible to make the right decisions for our body, our lungs, and the health of those around us, especially children. Therefore, whenever any form of impediment stands to alienate these rights from any person, whenever any substance which stands to take away the freewill, or hinder the ability to be responsible for ones own being is present, it is the right and duty of any such person to sever these ties that bind and purge the presence of evil that is responsible for any and all such violations of these sacred Laws of Nature. As all under the powerful hand of nicotine addiction are one in a common battle, the following offenses shall stand for all in this shared crusade for freedom and health. Heretofore, no shared declaration for the many who suffer from this evil existed for the world to see. Hereafter, this declaration will exist for the world to wholly understand this evil, and more importantly, for the one in need of redemption, to assume as their own personal proclamation of life, and give them strength in their time of need. These are our rights, duties, injuries, and present volition.

The right to live longer and live better is unalienable.
The right to have a healthy baby is ours.
The right to allow people we live with to be healthier, especially the children in our lives is ours.

We have the right to be healthy; to have more energy and better focus, to have a better sense of smell and taste, to have whiter teeth and fresher breath, to cough less and breathe better.
We have the right to be healthier for all of our lives; to have a low risk of cancer, heart attack, stroke, early death, cataracts, and skin wrinkling.
We have the right to be free of addiction, to not have to worry; “when will I get to smoke next?” or “What will I do when I am in a smoke-free place?”
Our duties exist to our children, friends, family, colleagues, and the whole of humanity, the planet earth, and ourselves to quit smoking.
Our duty to the children in our lives, our own, our brothers and sisters, our friends, and the children of the communities we exist in, exist; that we shall not expose them to the danger of cigarette smoke, that we shall help contribute to the clean air they deserve, and we shall allow them the freedom of growth and development without the introduction of carcinogenic, mutagenic, toxic substances that are released from a burning cigarette.
Our duty to our family exists; that we shall not expose them to harmful toxins, that we shall live a long healthy life so that they can have us as part of theirs, that they should not have to worry about our health.
Our duty to our friends exist; that we shall not expose them to harmful toxins, that we shall live a long healthy life so that they can have us as part of theirs, that they should not have to worry about our health.
Our duty to our colleagues exist; that we shall not expose them to harmful toxins, or the remnants thereof.
Our duty to the whole of humanity and the planet earth exists; that we shall not contribute to the pollution of the clean air and water we all share, that we shall not contribute to the wrongful allocation of resources for the production of tobacco and the manufacture of cigarettes.
Most importantly, our duty to ourselves exist; that we shall be healthy, happy, and holy. We shall fulfill our duty because we owe it to ourselves to regain our dignity as human beings.
Our injuries exist because we have been poisoned and misguided by an industry that wishes us ill, for their own profit. We have been lied to and we have been supplied the poison that will lead to our own slow suicide. We have been injured beyond redemption of the antagonist of these injuries; and the benefactors of these crimes, will never cease to be held responsible in the eyes of Natures God.
Ultimately, we resolve to take responsibility into our own hands and end the suffering that is being caused upon us, by our own hands, under duress, and make our situation right.
We resolve to make our human rights, our own, once again.
We resolve to live up to the duties we have to all children, our family, friends, colleagues, the whole of humanity, the planet earth, and ourselves.
We resolve to end our injury, heal our suffering, purge the poison, cleanse our mind, heart, and lungs, repair our skin, allow our children to breath fresh air once again, cease supporting an industry of death that has us in its jaws, and finally find the freedom we once had, prior to this oppressive habit.

These are our rights, duties, injuries, and present volition. This is our resolution, our responsibility to ourselves and others, and this is what we shall do, We shall end this putrid act of cigarette smoking!

We, therefore, members of the human race, united by the harmful addiction of cigarette smoking, appealing to the strength, courage, and wisdom within for the rectification of our sometimes seemingly impossible feat, do, in the name of all other members of our assembly, whom retain the desire for health and freedom from addiction, declare the words in this pronouncement to be, without a doubt the truth that may set us free from our heavy burden, and allow us to pursue our happiness without the weight of this load on our shoulders. It is well known by all whom experience this burden, that these words open the door for an inner war that will, sometimes, to the shore of victory look bleak. Nevertheless we will endure the trials and tribulations that come, and always remember, we may lose a battle here and there, but the war is not over until we have won, which is our right of rights. This is our Declaration of Life, and we will prevail, we will triumph, we shall overcome. Life is ours, and we are going to take it, we are going to be free once again!

-JMS