Explanation of the Declaration of Independence (or "What Should We Do About America?")

We live in a country where everybody is supposed to have an opportunity to pursue their dreams, and succeed or fail based on their own merits.  In this nation, all of us assumedly have the right to express whatever idea we wish, even if that idea is a bit out of left field.  In this land, we have stood together, united as "one nation under God".  That's the American way; our way has made us the freest and most prosperous nation on the face of the earth. 

However, our lives, as well as the "American way" is increasingly under attack.  These days, the government chooses who will succeed and who will fail.  If you're doing something deemed not preferable by them, they fine you, or shut your operation down entirely.  We once were able to say anything we wanted, even if what we said wasn't always politically correct or accepted.  Today, we are told that there are things that we can't say because "they might offend somebody".  If what I have to say offends you that much, then grow up, and get a thicker skin.  And where we once were united as one nation and one people, we now are more divided than ever before, on class and racial lines.  Don't believe me? Allow yourself a minute to look around you.  Yes, this is America in 2016; it is not the country that my father, or even myself, grew up in. 

The Declaration of Independence says that we hold certain rights to be "unalienable", or rights that cannot be taken away by any form of government.  These ideals are so true that they are, or should be, obvious to all; they are "self-evident". 

Continuing, the Declaration goes on to say that "among these rights are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness".  I have always believed this to be true.  It also says that "whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it".  Indeed, it is further explained that "when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object, evinces (shows) a design to reduce them (the people) under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security". 

For those of you that don't understand this, let me translate for you.  According to the authors of the Declaration (which included future president Thomas Jefferson), when the government is tyrannical and not respectful of the rights of the people, the people have the right and duty to make wholesale changes to the government.  This right extends to the abolition of the current form of government, if that is what the people desire, and the replacing of it with another form of government that they think will better serve them.  That's what our forefathers meant by throwing off government. 

Now, whether you see these things or not, many things are wrong with our great country.  There are many people who do not respect our national symbols, such as our flag and anthem.  Those of us that love and honor this country stand for the anthem, and salute the flag when it goes by.  However, there are some that "take a knee", or even remain sitting.  That's clear disrespect for the men and women who fought and died to safeguard our freedom to do as such.  Continuing, the government has increasingly been getting itself involved in people's personal lives.  They tell us that there are certain things that we simply cannot do, or even must do.  The government says that the people must behave a certain way; their way.  According to them, politicians know how to run individual's lives better than the individual themself does.  Whatever happened to making your own decisions, and personal responsibility?

To make a long story short, there are things that the government has been doing that the Constitution expressly forbids.  Indeed, the Declaration specifically mentions that at the time of independence, King George of Great Britain was doing some of these things as well.  It explains that the "history of the...King of Great Britain...is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over these states".  A few of these listed "injuries" are as follows;

1.  "He has refused his assent to laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good". 

2. "He has obstructed the administration of justice by refusing his assent to laws for establishing judiciary powers".

3.  "He has made Judges dependent on his will alone, for the tenure of their offices...". 

4.   "He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hither swarms of officers to harass our people and eat out their substance".

5.   "He has...(imposed) taxes on us without our consent..."

6.   "He has...(deprived) us, in many cases, of the benefits of trial by jury..."

7.   "He has...(abolished) our most valuable laws, and (altered) fundamentally the forms of our governments..."

8.   "He has abdicated government here by declaring us out of his protection, and waging war against us". 

9.   "He has excited domestic insurrections among(st) us". 

As is our right as a free people, we have often protested these intolerable actions.  To quote the Declaration, "in every stage of these oppressions, we have petitioned for redress in the most humble terms.  Our repeated petitions have been answered only by repeated injury".  There are many of us that don't like what our government is doing.  That's made obvious by our many protests, and several petitions to our officials to address these issues.  However, it seems to me that when one stands up, and says something against the actions of the government, they are met with ridicule.  Indeed, they are often retaliated against, and punished by our government.  Washington, as well as our state governments, no longer listens to the voice of the people.  If we are to remain free, this needs to change. 

Furthermore, some of us have tried to tell others that the actions that the government is taking are unacceptable.  As the Declaration says, "we have appealed to their...(sense of) justice", but "they...have been deaf to the voice of justice".  The rights that were laid out for us by our forefathers still matter, but many people seem to think that they don't.  To quote the classic film "Network", they say "please...let me have my (Iphones and Playstations), and I won't say anything.  Just leave me alone".  This is an attitude of ignorance, and one of failure as well.  The saying goes that "the only way for evil to win is if good people say nothing".  The more people that speak out about things that shouldn't be happening, the more opportunity there will be to change such things.  However, some people don't know, or care, what is going on today. 

These essential issues beg an important question.  How are "we the people" to solve the many problems in America? First, we must continue to protest, and petition our elected representatives to address our many shared issues.  The more of us that do this, the harder it will be for our voices to be ignored. 

Second, we must nominate and elect those who will be better stewards of our freedom.  The presidential campaign this year illustrates this quite well.  Your choices are basically a womanizing, arrogant, pompous fool, or a lying, cheating, arrogant woman who has blood on her hands.  That's not a choice that I enjoy making, but there is no viable alternative save Gary Johnson, who is a pot-smoking former governor.  We need to come up with better prospective representatives who will listen to the people, and not totally ignore them. 

Finally, if our government continues to serve only its own interests, perhaps we would be better served to "alter" the structure of such government.  As has been previously stated, "people should not be afraid of the government.  Government should be afraid of the people".  Although controversial, it is entirely within the rights of the people to "throw off" their system of government, and institute a new one that provides "new guards for their future security".  At present, the government claims that it is illegal for a state (or several states) to secede.  However, this is also within the rights of the people, IMHO.  If a state or states doesn't like the things that are going on in Washington, and believes that they are counter-productive to their interests, I believe that such state or states have the option to declare independence.  This would "throw off" the federal government's authority over said states, and permit such regions to make laws and policy as they would see fit. 

When it comes down to it, isn't that the reason why the original thirteen colonies seceded from Britain in the first place? Isn't our whole purpose as a nation to govern ourselves, and secure freedom for all? Here's a final quote to think about.  This one is inscribed on the Liberty Bell, as well as featured in the Bible.  It is "proclaim liberty throughout all the land, unto all the inhabitants thereof".  Principles such as this are what have, and still do, make America the greatest nation on the planet.  It is this attitude that "we the people" should take towards our government.  Let's return to our belief in individual freedom, and "common sense" in our halls of power.