From the June 2007 Idaho Observer:
The consent of the governed
"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." ~Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776
As I ponder these great words from our Founding Fathers, I cannot imagine anyone today having the courage to "alter or abolish" the current government by walking up to the White House and ordering the Bush administration to leave the grounds. I think we all know what the Bushites would do to anyone who would dare to oust them on grounds they are destructive to the right of the governed to pursue life, liberty and happiness.
So, what good are these words to any of us now if no one has the courage to use them as they were intended?
How did we lose the freedoms our Founders fought and died to provide and how do we, the people, find them again?
David Reischaver
Carson City, Michigan
David: It is my firm belief that "intent" is the most powerful force in the universe. As it stands now, here on earth, the intent of those to enslave and exploit is stronger than the intent of the commoners to be truly free.
Throughout history, people prefer to pretend they are free because with true freedom comes responsibility. So long as they are fed and entertained, people can be enslaved and exploited indefinitely. But, when they start to go hungry and the circuses stop coming to town, they develop the collective desire to get rid of their old bosses and elect new ones.
Therein lies the greatest perplexity of all time: How does one develop and sustain a nation of people who would rather die than live as slaves, when all most people want out of life is to be fed and entertained?
The answer is also found in history. People like us—people who will be free or die trying—have, since humans began organizing as communities, been sprinkled sparsely all over the planet. I think we have been charged with the task of teaching our fellow sufferers to be worthy of freedom and intolerant of anything less.
As you can see, with only a few brief exceptions, the birth of our nation being one of them, we have failed over and over again for millennia.
But, souls that need to be free keep being born into human form. That is because past failures do not change the fact that our mission is to inspire our fellows to demand freedom and be equal to its challenges. ~DWH
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