Another book? Yep. Title? I don't know yet. Target audience? Concerned adults who need reminder and encouragement from America's roots in addressing today's broken government.
Many of us feel the need to get back to our roots. Those roots may be a vague understanding in our memory. We are sickened that today's children are not really learning America's legacy.
My upcoming book will attempt to draw parallels between our country's beginnings to today's experience. The Revolutionary experiences are strikingly similar to the occurrences of our current events.
Intuitively, most educated Americans are aware that the past speaks to today's news. However, we may not know how to focus our past on contemporary issues. My upcoming book will seek to bridge that gap.
Over the course of my next several entries, I'll share portions of the book as it develops. I hope you enjoy it! Jim
The Essence of the Declaration of Independence
Once upon a time, most school children could tell you the significance of the July 4, 1776. Not now. A query today would almost assuredly elicit the response, “Fireworks!” If you persisted with a followup question as to why, you’d get a blank stare, or perhaps “To blow things up.”
On April 19, 1775 the “Shot Heard ‘Round the World” reported. It marked the beginning of the Revolutionary War, or the War for Independence as it was known then. Despite the misconception that the American colonists stood united in this cause, people were widely divided in their opinions of a response to British oppression as well as appropriate response. Nonetheless, war had begun.
On May 10, 1775, delegates from the respective colonies were to meet in Philadelphia to strategize next steps. Debates were lengthy. The famous Olive Branch Petition seeking reconciliation was ignored as King George III and the Parliament got word of British troops being pushed back into Boston. Finally, on July 4, 1776, a letter had been approved which would be sent to England as explanation and justification for future actions: the Declaration of Independence.
The delegates felt the need to explain themselves. The letter announced the colonies would dissolve ties with England. From there, the cornerstone argument presented is that of basic beliefs, the subsequent need of government to protect the rights of the citizens, a recognition of the need for government and how that government is to be accountable to the people, the justification for change demanded by the people including the right to abolish the government, a listing of grievances suffered by the colonists under British rule, and a pledge by the signers to adhere to the pledge of the letter, unto separation of property, reputation and life.
Let us first examine the state of basic beliefs.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
The signers of the Declaration felt that the beliefs they held dear were based on obvious truth: there is equality among men, God had given men specific rights which could not be removed, and to serve as example, the protection of one’s life, the right to be free, and the right to pursue endeavors which fulfilled a human - these were sacred. The key to this belief hinges on the origin of the rights, i.e. they come from God as a gift. As a God-given gift, the possession of these rights is above the dominion of other humans. That is, my right to life is sacred; you and your buddies cannot, by this set of foundational beliefs, remove it from me.
Based on this cornerstone belief concerning rights, action must be taken to protect the rights of all people:
— That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed...
The Founders created our country on the Foundation that 1) our Rights come from God and therefore cannot be taken away, and 2) the reason for establishing a government is to protect our God-given rights. (All officials in government, and all candidates running for public office should know this basic truth. The reason for the existence of a government, according to the Declaration, is to protect the God-given rights of the people.)
Now, I must ask a fundamental question: What if we become a nation that no longer believes in God - or even, that notwithstanding the existence of God, our rights come from another source. In that event, the Declaration’s basic premise is undermined. According to the Declaration, the existence of rights would be up for debate. For if the rights do not come from God, do they then come from the government? If the government, then what the government gives, the government can take away. Do they come from nature? Within the animal kingdom, species will kill their own, frequently - victory goes to the fittest. Shall we live by the rules of animals? If so, our code of conduct and our very safety is at stake, subject to the whims and capriciousness of others. Let’s move on.
— That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
Should a government lose sight of its purpose and begins to destroy our rights, it is your right to change or get rid of it. Did the government give you that right? No! It is basic to your natural God-given rights. If not, then the Founders would not have called this action a right. For the action of changing or abolishing the government supersedes the very prominence of the government itself. The chain of command established is God, then people, then government. Further...
Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.
Our Forefathers wisely recognized the value of a long-standing government and urged us not to foolishly attempt change it for trendy or temporal reasons. A government which had stood the test of time must have done so by successfully protecting its citizens. However, the Founders also understood that human nature tends towards inaction if the people can tolerate bad government. Reasons are not offered for failure to correct the bad government, so we must search ourselves as to why. Are we too busy? Perhaps we see the effort as insurmountable. Maybe we are not interested in politics. Have we grown “fat” and lazy? Now listen to this...
But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism...
Abuse is fairly obvious. Usurpation means taking power that does not belong to me. So when our government becomes abusive of our God-given rights, and begins taking our power away from us, without our consent, and the goal becomes clear that the government is attempting to put the people under a form of total control... then what?
... it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.
Notice, the right to change or eliminate the bad government is not a privilege - it is a right. Again, if the people have a right which trumps the very existence of their government, the right would, by the Founders’ definition, be a God-given right. At this point, the signers of the Declaration up the ante, so to speak. They pronounce that taking action against a government run amok is more than a God-given right; it is the duty of the people to take action - making change when possible, but abolishing the government if necessary for the welfare and protection of the people. If you believe your country, its people, yourselves, and your children are in danger, this Declaration does not give you the privilege, it is more than even the right... it is your DUTY to provide new Guards for your future security.
Our country was established on the premise that the people are above, and must control a government which fails to protect the God-given rights of the people. Once the people fail to remain vigilant, and expect the government to run itself, the people are in grave danger of tyranny. Active participation by the citizenry is not only expected, it is demanded. Further, having a clear picture of the basic beliefs of our Founders is paramount to maintaining the legacy they created and bequeathed.
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