We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.
What a great way to address the King of England, who obviously disagreed. Unfortunately, this strong assertion of a natural right left out two things. First, all men and all women are created equal. Secondly, the Founding Fathers, brilliant as they were, conveniently seemed to forget the fact that slavery, the enslavement of Black men and women, existed in the colonies, and those men and women were surely not equal. But the target, the enemy was the King, and these men, 56 of them from 13 different colonies, were determined to live free and sever all ties with Great Britain.
At the beginning of the Declaration of Independence, a masterful political document constructed by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, the 56 Founding Fathers made this statement:
WE HOLD THESE TRUTHS TO BE SELF-EVIDENT, THAT ALL MEN ARE
CREATED EQUAL, THAT THEY ARE ENDOWED BY THEIR CREATOR WITH CERTAIN INALIENABLE RIGHTS, THAT AMONG THESE ARE LIFE, LIBERTY, AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS.
These 56 men were determined to confront the King of England with the fact that there were UNALIENABLE RIGHTS for all mankind, ignored by Great Britain, but those rights were the natural rights which were given by God, the Founders called Him the Creator, and those unalienable rights could not be changed, reduced, or eliminated in any way. Those rights were part of the birthing process of all men and all women. They are not derived from or given from government, but, one could say, they were part of the DNA of every human being. They were determined, these 56 men, that the 13 colonies and all who came thereafter would enjoy those rights and privileges including, and among others, Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.
ALL should be able to live life as they choose, accumulate their fortunes, and enjoy the fruits of their labors and earnings, without oppressive taxation or forfeiture of property or monies. ALL should be entitled to everything which LIBERTY entails, including all the rights and freedoms which were later (1787) embodied in the Constitution of the United States, that great document of 1789. ALL are entitled to the Pursuit of Happiness, however that individual defines happiness, and all such rights and privileges are unconditional with one exception. That is, that those rights can not turn from freedoms to mere licenses with respect to behavior and can not diminish or conflict the rights of others. No one has rights superior to those of anyone else.
Without the freedoms of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, there can be no freedom of religion (The First Amendment). Those freedoms are essential to the expression, practice, and belief of true religion. And, of course, they are essential, foundational, to the great First Amendment rights of freedom of speech, freedom of press, freedom of petition, and freedom of assembly, more basic rights, birthing rights and never conveyed or instituted by government itself.
11 years later, in 1787, these 56 Founders and their successors, the authors of the Declaration of Independence, met once again in Philadelphia, and in 1787 began the drafting of the Constitution of the United States which was issued as a formal document in 1789. The broad and incredible language of the Constitution is illuminated by the principles set forth in the Declaration. The seminal passage in the Declaration is so very important:
WE HOLD THESE TRUTHS TO BE SELF-EVIDENT.
The Declaration of these truths and these rights came from the long tradition of natural law, which holds that there is a “higher law” of right and wrong from which human law should be derived. Therefore, government, any government, would be instituted with a primary purpose to SECURE THOSE RIGHTS, those natural rights, those unalienable rights, those self-evident rights, chief of which are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
How unfortunate today that so many of those rights, privileges, and truths, are taken for granted, assumed, unappreciated. Perhaps they never will be fully understood or appreciated until such time as they are taken away. Those 56 men, those authors of the DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE, told the 13 colonies and the world at large at the end of the document this very sacred oath:
AND FOR THE SUPPORT OF THIS DECLARATION, WITH A FIRM RELIANCE ON
THE PROTECTION OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE, WE MUTUALY PLEDGE TO EACH OTHER OUR LIVES, OUR FORTUNES, AND OUR SACRED HONOR.
These 56 men were so determined to effectuate the freedom of the colonies, the freedoms in which they believed for them and all mankind, the freedom from Great Britain and the freedom among many others to freely pursue life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. They pledged their lives for that purpose. They were willing to die, if necessary, to achieve these goals. They were willing to give up everything, their fortunes, their property, anything and everything if necessary. And most importantly, perhaps, as a moment of honor, they would never deviate in any way from this FREEDOM MISSION. That was real patriotism. How wonderful it would be if that were, once again, to be the pledge, the oath, the statement of the sacred honor of close to 400 million Americans, the privileged people who live in and enjoy the fruits and blessings of this great country. The day may come, the day may be near, when we who love freedom will need indeed to give our lives, our fortunes, and all we have for the freedoms we so richly enjoy.
Thank you, America, and God Bless America!