During the American Revolution, one of the most popular rallying cries was “No taxation without representation!” This came at a time when the American colonists were being subjected to progressively higher taxes — imposed on progressively greater numbers of goods — levied by the Crown with the assurance that the colonists enjoyed “virtual representation”. Of course, this “virtual representation” was no representation at all, as the “virtual representative” was not elected by the colonists nor disposed to their grievances. Well, there are those among us who fail to recognize (or admit) the parallels present in the modern day, where taxes on Americans are not just unfathomably higher than when the colonist decried the injustice; they are just part of the total cost imposed upon a people not present in the negotiations nor properly represented in the government which claims to have resolved the problems of the past. A recent YouTube comment illustrates the misconception: “ The d...