It Is Dangerous to Be Right When the Government Is Wrong - Andrew P. Napolitano [20]
Most Americans are aware of the existence of the Declaration of Independence, but when was the last time you read it? Or better yet, when was the last time you heard someone quote, speak, or teach about the Declaration of Independence? Many times when I quote this document in conversations I have with many Americans, highly educated people nonetheless, they have not the slightest clue of where the quotes I speak of originate. Some even maintain that it was something written by Karl Marx!
Let us now look at the text of the Declaration of Independence. The most important section is the second paragraph, because it is where all of the meat is found of the colonists’ moral and political philosophies on which they were basing the need for independence:
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.6
As we have seen, a self-evident truth is a statement of fact that proves itself; one that needs no explanation. As we have also seen, one of those self-evident truths is that all men are created equal. An important distinction must be made here. The meaning of equal is not meant to be construed as the equality of ability, brain power, wealth, or that all men are equal in every conceivable sense. However, it restated Locke and Paine’s position, which was that no man has a mandate from God to rule over other men. What this moral position sets up is a governmental system or a society where the king, even if his name is George, or Abraham, or George W., is not a superior moral instrument with power over the natural rights of the people whom he attempts to govern.
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Put differently, no man is endowed with rights superior to anyone else; and this is the absolute fundamental principle on which Locke and Jefferson wrote and upon which the American government was formed. No scientific study or knowledge should be needed to conclude that it is a self-evident truth that the best system of governance is one that recognizes and guarantees equality of rights for all.
The next part of the Declaration goes on to state “that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.” In the old days, the king could essentially do no wrong since he was actually regarded as the only person who had the power to create the laws, which power the ancient beliefs held was given to him from God. Since this was the case, then the king was to make all laws and rule all of his subjects, and this was seen as the only means of achieving peace.
When Jefferson recognized the truism that all men are created equal, he was introducing a government in which the rights of every man were recognized and respected by every other man, even those in the government. When Jefferson stated that all humans are endowed with “certain unalienable Rights,” he meant that not only are we all born fully possessed of our rights, but these rights are unalienable, meaning they can only be surrendered by conscious intentional criminal behavior. As Jefferson wrote, “Everyone would agree that each of us is born without governmental permission or involvement. It is evident our very lives come from nature or God. The government does not breathe life into anyone.” Jefferson certainly was not introducing the system we have today; where Congress gains its powers from a majority vote and then has the ability to right every wrong, and regulate every behavior. Where does a government get its power from? Jefferson answered. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the