Declaration of Independence - 2

In the opening paragraph we learned that declaring our independence came with a reason and was founded on a basic belief in a God who had blessed us. In paragraph 2 we read ...

"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.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --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. 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. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them 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.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present 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. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world."

There are some real important things in here. Lets look ...

1. "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator" - What? Once again there was the belief that we have a Creator. Not evolution or science but a Creator who granted us certain rights. What are they?

2.  "endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happines"s.-- That seems to say that our Founding Fathers believed every individual is granted rights to life (think Abortion here) Liberty and the pursuit (not guaranteed) of happiness. No other country in the world ever had such thoughts before.

3. "That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, "-- Whats the purpose of government? To secure our rights as a people Created by our God. Pretty plain to me. And who does the government get its power from? The governed. That was the intention and plan of our Founding Fathers.

4. "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" -- Umm? And what do we have a right to do if the government infringes on those rights? Abolish it and go back to the beginning. Ever hear that spoken of before?

5."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. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them 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".-- They're telling us to not throw off the government at every whim, but, if Despotism should arise - thats another matter. Think about this one.

6. "Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present 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. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world." -- Our Founding Fathers did not take these things lightly. They did not declare their independence on a whim. They took the time to debate, argue and come to the conclusion that their rights were being taken away by the Mother Country.

Tomorrow we'll get into some of the reasons they did what they did and in the process created the greatest nation the world has ever seen.

For a better tomorrow ...