America’s original success resulted from a simple but essential quality in which our ideals harmonized the principles of Man’s Law with Nature’s Law and God’s Law. When these are aligned, all blessings are made possible. When they are misaligned; suffering results proportionate to the degree of discord.
The Declaration of Independence is an integral founding document because it establishes the moral, rational and practical foundation for the nation. It is the bedrock upon which the Constitution stands. So, understanding the Declaration of Independence is critical to gauging the validity of the Constitution, and the legitimacy of any subordinate law. If a law violates the principles of the Declaration of Independence, it is invalid regardless of its popularity or necessity.
It is clear that those entrusted to preserve, protect and defend our Divine, Natural and Constitutional Rights have abandoned their posts, and are now looting the nation without regard for consequences.
"To consider judges as the ultimate arbiters of all constitutional questions is a very dangerous doctrine indeed, and one which would place us under the despotism of an oligarchy." – Thomas Jefferson
Now more than ever, We the People need to fully understand the importance of this founding document; and be able to apply its precepts to our analysis of laws and government actions. Our understanding must then inform our actions – providing the moral sanction and the prudent steps to reclaim the reins of power and restore the Republic. To that end, let us review the concepts enshrined in the Declaration of Independence which serve as the sole validation of government:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident...” A self-evident truth is one that is perceived by a coherent mind, based on objective evidence that confirms itself in practice. A self-evident truth can be proven true, but cannot be proven false.
“...that all men are created equal...” All Men (people) are not endowed with equal strength, beauty, intelligence, aptitudes or desires. We are endowed with equal rights. Our unequal characteristics may result in varying degrees of success in the world, but our equality under Law guarantees that each will be impartially rewarded for wisdom and penalized for foolishness without regard for any factor except the objective merits of our performance.
“...they are endowed by their Creator...” The innate qualities bestowed at birth are ours exclusively by the fact of our existence. No power but God may bestow, mitigate or revoke them.
“...with certain unalienable rights...” The rights endowed by our Creator are not subject to the laws of Man. They are “un-a-lien-able:” meaning that no preemptive Earthly claim may be made against them either voluntarily or by force. They are immutable, permanent and absolute.
“...that among these are...” This phrase stipulates that the list is inconclusive. It identifies some of the rights, but does not limit them by definition.
“... life...” The right to life does not merely mean to be free from murder. It includes the right to all that is required to independently sustain life. It is the right to exclusive control over the honestly acquired means of sustenance. The right to life is the irrevocable core of property rights. To exercise the right to life, one must be free to learn and to freely act on that knowledge. One must be free to enjoy the fruits of our wise labor and to endure the loss which arises from foolishness. The right to life does not include a right to the fruits of others labors. When theft is legally sanctioned for any reason, the right to property; and so to life; is abridged.
“... liberty...” The right of liberty, like the right to life links freedom and responsibility. Liberty is the balance between free choice, free action, and the concurrent responsibility for one’s choices and actions. If one is free to act, they must be free to enjoy the full benefits of their wise actions, and to endure the consequences of their errors. A free person is one who is unhindered by any arbitrary authority in the pursuit of knowledge, honestly acquired property, associations and trade. Any forcible external interference – to even the smallest degree – in the relationship between action and result is a violation of one’s liberty; even if such interference results in temporary benefit.
“...the pursuit of happiness.” This statement is all-inclusive. It declares the right of free action without measuring the limits of that action. Since rights are individually owned, the only limit to the right to the pursuit of happiness is that it may not forcibly inhibit the same right of others. The pursuit of happiness is individually defined, independently pursued and can only be individually experienced. Potential routes to happiness may be advocated, but one person’s ideal cannot be forcibly imposed on another, regardless of the ideal’s merits.
“...that to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men...” This statement establishes the only moral and rational basis for government. Under this standard, the state is specifically limited to those actions which protect citizens’ rights. It can pursue no other purpose or exercise any further authority and still retain its moral authority.
The comparison expressed here between individual rights and government powers are mirrored in the enumerated powers of the Constitution. In the Constitution, individual rights are broadly and inconclusively defined. However, the powers of the state are specifically enumerated and definitively constrained.
The validation of this relationship between individual rights and state powers emerged from the founders’ rational response to the despotism of English rule. It was the express intent of the founding fathers to structure our government to prevent an American tyranny similar to that which they endured as British subjects. Lest these confines be violated, Jefferson included the following:
“...deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” In addition to the moral authority implied by faithful adherence to its just powers, the state is subject to the consent of the governed – consent that may be revoked for what the people consider just cause.
The “consent of the governed” clause ensures that the power of the state will forever be subject to the will of its citizens. This phrase stipulates that state authority is not only subject to the consent of those present at the time a law is passed, but to that of successive generations as well. In other words, a law accepted by one generation holds no authority over later generations without their express consent.
Every law is subject to the will of those over whom it holds power and must be reaffirmed to obtain that sanction – otherwise, under the “consent of the governed” clause, it is automatically nullified without the affirmation of its new constituents. This does not necessarily mean that all just laws must be reaffirmed by successive referendums. But it does mean that individuals who object to laws that do not directly secure their rights may ignore them.
When the necessity to obtain express sanction is disregarded, through negligence or corruption, laws having neither the moral validation of Constitutional authority or the express sanction of the governed accumulate to create an ever more oppressive burden for successive generations. The “redress of grievances” clause of the First Amendment to the Constitution provides the specific power of the people to correct this error; and the next phrase in the Declaration of Independence provides the moral basis of the peoples’ authority to correct this error.
“That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it...” This statement articulates the critical relationship between freedom and responsibility. When laws are created that infringe upon the rights of citizens, that infringement invokes a Divine, Natural and Lawful Right, and imposes a civic duty to ignore, resist, alter or abolish that law – or to overthrow the government that fails to honor this right.
When any solitary law infringes on the rights of a single citizen, it is immoral and unconstitutional. When that law goes unchallenged it is an inexcusable act of irresponsibility. When the cumulative effect of a body of laws is destructive of the liberty of many – whether by design or negligence – the abolition of an entire governmental strategy, or the entire system of government itself, is necessary in order 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.”
"We the people are the rightful masters of both Congress and the Courts – not to overthrow the Constitution, but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution."– Abraham Lincoln
When the public accepts unjust laws, perverting the right of sanction by acquiescence, then not only is our government debauched, but our people are defiled. Today we suffer without resistance, a tyranny equal to if not more corrupt than that from which our founders liberated us.
Our property rights are gone. And with them, our rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are now subject – not to our own devices and the justice of God’s and Nature’s Laws but – to the whims of tyrants. The able are enslaved to the powerful, who in turn enthrall the dependent. In the process all are degraded.
Without the liberty to exercise exclusive control of one’s property, no other rights exist. The penniless beggar will acquiesce to the demands of any who offer food, drink and shelter. The rich man will submit to kleptocrats in order to keep some of what is his by right. The politician and bureaucrat will twist their virtues into any deformity to maintain their power and employment.
Our descent into this spiritual cul-de-sac of quasi-cannibalism is the result of our abandonment of the principles illuminated in the Declaration of Independence. Only a return to those core American values will spare us the fate whose consequences are only now becoming self evident.
In my next article, I will detail what citizens can do to restore the Republic. Stay tuned...
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