Old School / New School
July 4– The Declaration of Independence (1776)
Summary: No more colonies.
Commentary: Let's do a longish pull quote today:
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.
While we have always been entirely successful in living up to those ideals as a nation, I think that this paragraph, more or less, sums up the goals of any politician, law, etc. of a functional liberal/democratic government.
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's the point of the whole thing. If you're not doing this, you're not doing liberty, democracy, etc. at all.
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.
It's interesting to think about the spectrum from "soap box to ammo box" as the saying goes. How much do things have to be wrong before it's worthwhile to go and riot, storm Congress, etc.? Especially in a democracy where people can have conflicting views, but aren't necessarily wrong (or where both can be right and wrong in different ways).
I think, overall, if we keep those ideals in the beginning of the paragraph in mind, we'll most avoid the second half of the paragraph and mostly do the right thing. Mistakes happen, but strongly held principles are the best way to guide ourselves on a good path. And, while the examples in this paragraph are great, you need to be able to define your own values for it to really matter.
