When my wife and I moved to Washington, D.C., in the summer of 1999, a rebellion was about to take place. Not one like the Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters, but one by the government of the District of Columbia as expressed on the license plates of the vehicles registered there: “Taxation Without Representation,” was printed on all issued plates beginning in May of 2000.
The message echoed the American colonists’ fight against British rule in the 1700s: “Taxation without representation is tyranny!” The 21st century statement was protesting the lack of congressional voting representation of the 700,000 citizens living in the “District” or “DC” as we call it.