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I am now in my second week of my Ethics & Legal course and had an entirely different topic to post, then I saw this on Wheel of Fortune:
We hold these truths to be self-evident
My husband and I were discussing its origin. He said it was from the preamble. Well, when I think preamble I think to the Constitution of the United States. I am quite familiar with the preamble to the Constitution as I still have it memorized from the fifth grade when we had to recite it in front of the class. And that was a loooooong time ago.
So, I did a search and found he was not incorrect in that it is from the preamble - of the Declaration of Independence. But you probably knew that, didn't you? So, why am I talking about this? And what does it have to do with people not liking change? Well, I read the rest of that preamble and, much as I always do when I start reading these things, I started having these wild thoughts.
Let me continue with the preamble:
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,
Did you know wherever 'men' is listed it literally means 'men'. Women were not a part of our forefathers' thinking when it came to equal rights. In fact, men of color [is that correct?] were given the right to vote before women of any race by a little over 50 years.
Here is what started my wheels turning:
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.
It is our right to alter or abolish our government if it is no longer fulfilling its duties to the citizens it serves. That is right, the government works for its people, NOT the other way around.
But it gets better:
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.
Our forefathers knew we would rather bitch and moan and suffer under an intolerable government then do what it takes, do what our forefathers' did, and take a stand for what is right for the people and tell the government it needs to shit or get off the pot!
Here is my favorite part:
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.
It is not just our right to remind the government who is really in charge, but
our duty as United States citizens to abolish our government if its powers become so vast as to be destructive towards are inalienable rights of 'Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness'.
It is time we told our government officials they can no longer sit on their seats for decades, but that they need to have term limits. They do not need to be as stringent as the Presidential term limits, but no one person should be allowed to stay in office for more than 10 years in a row. Maybe we enforce a term break by 4 years, then they may be re-elected, after all, if they are that good, then you will put them back in office after their short leave of absence.
Sometimes I think we've forgotten all our forefathers' gave up just so we can have the freedoms we hold so dear. Greed and power have clouded our thinking. We are no better than we once were with the haves and the have-nots, the religious persecution, our modern day caste system. Don't we want something better for our children? For ourselves? I know I do.
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