Heeding the Declaration of Independence

Declaration of Independence
Declaration of Independence. Image in public domain.

Many Americans are familiar with the following words, which ring out near the beginning of the Declaration of 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.”

That document, and the Revolutionary War that followed it, gave rise on this continent to a new nation, but it is not a nation that has acknowledged the equality of all men nor has it afforded life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness to all. More than 200 years have passed since that famous signing, yet these independent and united states  still do not ensure equal rights and self-determination for all.

If successive governments since those revolutionary times had consistently heeded the values expressed in that document, and had used those values to guide their own behavior at home and abroad, how different the world might be today.

For example, to justify revolting against British rule, the signers of the Declaration accused the King of the following “abuses and usurpations”:

  • “depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury”
  • ”transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences”
  • “transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny.”

Consider how the U.S. government could be accused of similar “abuses and usurpations,” and ask yourself, is this who we want to be?

Tortured Abu Ghraib prisoner
Tortured Abu Ghraib prisoner. Image in public domain.

Kathie Malley-Morrison, Professor of Psychology