From Sidney’s Discourses Concerning Government, circa 1650.
Commentary: The Founding Fathers relied heavily on Sidney
for justification to rebel. This passage, reformulated and simplified,
is incredibly simple: Tell Government it is coloring outside the lines.
If it is a good Government, the rulers will say "Thank you for bringing
our error to our attention.," and the Government, if good, will get back
in line. If it does not, you have exposed a bad government and you have
a right to rebel.
[Ed. note from Jim March: Sidney was one of two authors that were made required reading at the founding of the University of Virginia, on the orders of Thomas Jefferson. Locke was the other. Source: Stephen Halbrook, "That Every Man Be Armed", 1984. Oh yes, one other detail: England's government was somewhat upset with Mr. Sidney over this stuff, and eventually cut his head off. If any government official is reading this and getting angry, well, you're not the first, by about 350 years!)