Posted by
Ted in California on Wednesday, May 20, 2009 12:00:00 AM
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.
Our human rights are granted to us by God. We declare the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of hapiness. "Life" is our right. We own our own life. Government's first duty is to this right, the protection of the life of the citizen. Liberty is our right as creatures of God. The personal choices we make are our own. Government must protect the right to liberty. Liberty is the reward granted to righteousness. Our Creator endows man with the right to liberty, although it is not mentioned, the word consequence is not present it is implied. Without tyrants or totalitarianism there would be no concept of liberty. The contrast is important, because without morality, liberty is merely anarchy. Without morality, laws are no longer focused upon righteousness and justice, they are measures used to deprive the citizen of their natural rights. Liberty in the context it is used here implies the ability of the state to protect certain freedoms for its citizenry. The pursuit of happiness is the right granted to the man who is endowed by the Creator and who excercises their right to Liberty and is free to prosper from their own talents and industry. This is of course in context with the ideal that this right is granted by the Creator. The Creator endows man with the right to pursue happiness. If your pursuits are righteous and just, you should reap the fruits of your labor and thank god for your prosperity. If you are motivated to pursue wicked ends, then you should reap the benefits of sowing a fouled crop. The theme that is lost on a Godless society is that the Creator has endowed us with our natural rights. That man can only fully realize the fruits of life through righteousness and a Government that recognizes its responsibility as a protector of man's natural rights as granted by the Creator. The basis of society depends upon morality and the recognition of the man as an infallible being.
That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.
That's what I said! Jefferson was brilliant in his eloquence.
That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to 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.
The right of the governed is to change their government when it fails to protect their natural rights which are endowed upon them by God. Is there a trade off here? Can we have safety and happiness? In the pursuit of happiness we are able to use our talents and our industry to prosper. If a man fails because his talent or his industry is not great enough is that the responsibility of the government to amend this failure or to make whole the resulting injury?
Thomas Jefferson's brilliance has lasted because the great truths of the world never die. Universal truths cross all societal boundaries, all the laws of man, and cut to the core of every system of beliefs. There is only one truth, everyone and everything comes to an end. Everything fails, everything dies. Has the greatest and most ambitious experiment failed? Continual process improvement was built into our declaration of independence, can we use the CPI theories coupled with a respect for natural law as endowed by the Creator to cast off the ineffective or inefficient processes that plague our government?