Unlike us, the colonists had some power. Power to avoid payment of taxes they deemed unfair, by boycotting those products Parliament chose to tax. Such boycotts often proved effective -- forcing Britain in several instances to reduce taxes or repeal them, as they did with the Stamp Act in 1766. We, on the other hand, are powerless to escape what might as well be called the tyrannical rule of our legislators. If there is any doubt at all that our government wields more power than Great Britain did over the colonists, consider this: In 1773 if John Q. Public disagreed in principle with the tax on tea, what penalty did he incur by refusing to pay? Nothing. He could simply refuse to purchase it, immediately freeing himself from the obligation of paying a tax he deemed unfair. That's called liberty.

Now fast forward to 1999. If John Q. Public were to make a similar decision and conclude that his tax burden was unfair, what would happen if he refused to pay? He would go to jail. That, my friends, is servitude.

According to Americans for Tax Reform, the average family now pays almost 40 percent of their income in federal, state, and local taxes -- more than they pay for food, clothing and shelter combined. Even if the colonists chose to pay each and every tax levied by King George, it's doubtful they paid anywhere near the amount that we do.

One issue we do have in common with the colonists, however, is our subjection to taxation without real representation. While some may take exception to such an assertion, it's about time we acknowledged the truth: Our representation in Congress is nothing more than a sham.

Here's why. According to The Center for Public Integrity, Capitol Hill lawmakers received more than $180 million from Fortune 500 firms from 1987 to 1996. For such generosity, Congress has provided so many loopholes that about half of the 4 million corporations in the U.S. did not pay a penny in federal taxes in 1993.

Worse, in 1995, McDonnell Douglas Corporation, a huge contributor to House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt, actually received a tax rebate of $257 million dollars! (Yet in the year of the "surplus," we don't even rate a 10 percent tax refund.)

Why does Congress continue to reduce the taxes of the super-rich corporations, while it increases the burden on private citizens? The answer is simple. Each corporate tax break our "public servants" sneak through Congress is rewarded by campaign contributions from those with pockets far deeper than our own. Forbes magazine stated it this way: "our tax code has become a cookie jar full of good things for everybody but the general public."

Whom do our lawmakers represent? Not us. And given this abuse, it's high time we Americans asked ourselves if we yet possess any of our patriotic forbears' zeal for liberty?

If George Washington or Thomas Jefferson were to pay us a visit, would they recognize us as Americans? Would they see in us a small flicker of their passion for independence ... a passion that led them to triumph over unjust rulers and incredible odds? Would they find a trace of the courage that prompted them to make a stand and raise the cry, "No taxation without representation?"

We honor the sacrifices our Founding Fathers made for the cause of liberty. We are proud of their achievements and example. But this year, as we obediently and unquestioningly submit to a tax burden that would have caused riots in colonial America, perhaps it's time we asked ourselves the question: Would they be proud of us?