Watching the news you may have seen the Michigan protests and now the Minnesota protests playing out in the state’s capitals. For some it’s an impressive show of patriotism for those citizens who were tired of being restrained with such draconian measures, while others believe it is irresponsible to be defying the government in such a time.
I have found that in this trying time the Constitution is not the only place to look for your rights during this time of rapid government overreach and expansion. Instead, I urge you to look to the Declaration of Independence to see the principals on which this country was originally founded.
The Constitution is an incredible document that was written to create the government we all live under today. However, the Constitution is just the guidelines for how a government should formally be run. The Declaration of Independence was written to state to the British empire our natural and inalienable rights granted to us by our Creator.
To quote some of the most famous lines from the Declaration (and yes I will complete the whole paragraph unlike Joe Biden):
When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume, among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
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.
Short and simple in its presentation yet, these words echoed across the oceans and around the world. Last week I wrote about how the Constitution was dead because we as a people failed to protect our natural rights. The goal of the government is not to give and to take away these rights, because as I have stated before, they are not theirs to give and to take.
Let’s look at some of the lines again: “the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature’s God entitle them”.
God, or nature, entitles mankind to certain rights that are not to be taken away or infringed upon by the government. As the famous line goes on to say “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” The Founders envisioned the government’s role was to create a system of governing whereby their only purpose is to protect these inalienable rights. Never a mention of whether or not the government can strip you of those rights at the slightest inconvenience or sign of danger.
That was the ultimate and only goal of our government in those early days of our country. You have the right to life, to protect yourself and preserve your own mortal being. You have the right to liberty, to choose your outcome without government overreach. You have the right to the pursuit of happiness, to follow your own path and acquire personal property on your terms.
Some will say, but those rights are not the law, we go by the Constitution for law. But the Constitution rose from this belief that these rights are the ultimate rights worth protecting. State Constitutions at the time of the drafting of the federal Constitution all mentioned these fundamental rights.
The Massachusetts Constitution in 1780 read: All men are born free and equal, and have certain natural, essential, and unalienable rights; among which may be reckoned the right of enjoying and defending their lives and liberties; that of acquiring, possessing, and protecting property; in fine, that of seeking and obtaining their safety and happiness.
The Pennsylvania Constitution in 1790 read: That all men are born equally free and independent, and have certain inherent and indefeasible rights, among which are those of enjoying and defending life and liberty, of acquiring, possessing, and protecting property and reputation, and of pursuing their own happiness.
Even our own California Constitution when drafted in 1879 starts off with: All people are by nature free and independent and have inalienable rights. Among these are enjoying and defending life and liberty, acquiring, possessing, and protecting property, and pursuing and obtaining safety, happiness.
These are not fancy words, they are not something that sounds good in a speech (whether you can remember them or not). They are essential bedrock upon which our country is founded.
Today we see the trampling of this notion. The exact opposite is happening all over the country. We have surrendered our rights, our inalienable rights, without so much as a peep from its citizenry. We abdicated it all in the blink of an eye.
So when you see protestors in open rebellion across draconian stay at home orders, I would like to believe they are simply living up to the ideal from our Declaration “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.”
Never forget the principles upon which our country was founded and never be afraid to ensure our own government is living up to these ideals.
