The title is a direct quote from the Declaration of Independence, written in 1776.
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.
Are our children being taught about the Declaration of Independence in schools? Are they being told the truth or some opinion of current educational preference? STOP!!!! BEFORE LAUNCHING A HEATED RESPONSE, read the whole article! Teachers are the ones that give the information to the students. For the most part they do a fantastic job but are sometimes restricted to doctrine set forth by the school board, local, state, and Federal Government’s. Don’t blame the teachers, blame the politicians and the bureaucracy created by them.
You can probably guess that I am an originality, and believe that the founding fathers took tremendous care in crafting the Founding Documents. They wrote many papers (See Federalist Papers) raising questions about what the government should have the powers to do and what it did not have the power to due. It was certainly not going to be another Monarchy. When it was all said and done it was not a Democracy but a Democratic Republic. The government was to be limited in it’s power and scope. It was written plainly, concisely, and displayed the true intent. It was then sent to the 13 states to be read and discussed, and ratified. While the Declaration of Independence, was written s a notice to King George, it was still agreed upon by the representatives from each of the colonies. Yes not every colonist wanted to break ties with England, but neither did every colonists want to be continued to be under the oppression of the English Crown. These are the facts, They fought a war to become Independent, and won.
What does that mean today? The framers never intended for the government to so big. They never intended for it to control every aspect of your life. The states were suppose to be sovereign and have the right to choose. So how did all this blow up to what it is today? Politicians seeking power and control started making laws to change the way it works. Political parties have set their own vision of what the government should be responsible for and guaranteed that they could do what the want in those pieces of legislation. The elected politicians were never suppose to serve in congress for life. While the number of House members is base on population in each state, the senate only gets 2 members from each state. The terms for service where defined, the term for the President was 6 years. Up until FDR, the president could serve as many times as he could be elected. That ended with his Election to his 4th term. That is the method the Framers of our Democratic Republic intended it to be done.
The “Founding Fathers” were not perfect. They had their own faults, but they understood the value of freedom and the value of having the right to self govern. They understood that Freedom isn’t free, it’s paid for with blood sweat and struggle. Our freedom was paid for by those that fought in the American Revolution and in every war or conflict since then.
What is the meaning of all this? Make sure that that future generations are taught the truth behind the formation of this country and what each of these Documents were and not what the current option of their meaning should be, but what the meaning was when they were written. That same principal exists today. The words did not change nor did the reason for them. We should respect these documents and protect them from being trashed or changed to pervert their meaning.