The Declaration of Independence is one of the greatest theological and philosophical treatises on the origin of human rights and the idea that governments should be formed to protect these rights.
It advocated that man should bind himself to the laws of nature and nature’s God. They provide an objective point of reference to truth and moral guidance to live our lives in connection to one another; that individual responsibility does not end with the individual but extends to the community and the contributions that are required of the gifts and talents that each individual is blessed with so as to bless those around them.
This is the foundation on which we develop faith in our fellow citizens: this is the law of the gift and this law comes from the recognition that we are divinely created to love God with all our heart, our mind and our soul and to love our neighbor as ourselves. This is the great commandment and it provides the foundation on which all the laws of nature are built upon. We each share a responsibility to one another to ensure that our government safeguards these rights.
Our founders understood this and did not operate in a vacuum void of the reality of God and His presence in the affairs of men. They recognized the providential nature of their undertaking and the risks involved. By all accounts they were on a suicide mission when they willingly pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor. They placed their trust in Him who created them and boldly took on the challenge they were willing to die for.
Our founders forged a new country and a new beginning out of nothing but the simple trust in divine providence. The ideals and the beliefs they battled for are innate to our being and timeless in their existence and it would be up to each corresponding generation to battle for and preserve the ideas they articulated. If we follow them we ensure a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure Domestic Tranquility, provide for the Common Defense, promote the General Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity.
Benjamin Franklin’s words ring as true today as they did over 200 years ago when asked what form of government did you give us, “A Republic if you can keep it.”
