declaration of independence
A Latin statement commonly used in the Middle Ages to define the purpose of government reads: servitium propter jura, non potestas praeter jura. This succinct statement translates to mean, "service to and for the sake of rights, not a power exercised beyond or outside of rights." This age-old definition of what gains a government should work toward, coupled with a belief in the importance of universal rights, provided in essence the backbone of the American Declaration of Independence. However, Thomas Jefferson and the Continental Congress chose a more contemporary elaboration of what was meant by those succinct Latin words when they endeavored to break the union with England. Yet few Americans choose to take the opportunity to learn and understand those defining principles that the Founding Fathers laid forth in that first and all-important document. If contemporary Americans were to simply read the words and follow the principles that reside within Declaration of Independence, the nation as a whole might be philosophically aimed in an entirely different direction...the one for which it was first intended.The Declaration of Independence was written as a means of accusing the English King of wrongs before the world as a jury.
The percentage of young people who vote continues to drop, and community participation among this age group is distinctly apolitical. " Although Jefferson spoke of a different sort of suffering, his observations about the willingness of people to suffer rather than to change what they are accustomed to has proven all to true. If one holds by the standard that the media only discusses news that interests us, one might think we are engrossed in our political system. (Munves 13) These are rights believed to be the common property of all individuals, regardless of nationality, and are older indeed than any government. Taken another way, Governments are here to ensure that an individual can do whatever he or she wishes, as long as it does not infringe on the natural rights of another. " State of Vermont, Deb Markowitz. Jefferson also felt, as all of the colonies did, that the protection of these basic human rights was the fundamental reason for the existence of any government at all. Later, when the colonies adopted a constitution, all men were granted the right to vote and have their say in how the government should act according to these principles.
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