~by State Senator Jesse Green
We love holidays and celebrations. They are important because we are a forgetful people, and we need these events to help us remember timeless truths or milestones that have helped our lives. Our America 250 celebration is no different. This milestone has provided us with an opportunity to grow in our understanding of how our nation began and why we are so unique in world history. I would like to highlight some themes that stood out to me as I read the Declaration of Independence this year, and I hope they are helpful to you.
“When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another….”
The word “one” and the phrase “political bands” stood out to me in this opening line. Using the word “one” immediately establishes the tone of unity. Because people at that time thought of themselves as separate colonies, religious groups, and nationalities, it was vitally important to emphasize that they needed a unifying bond. Up to this point, their only shared identity was Great Britain being their “mother” country. A new identity had to be forged in the colonies due to the continuous abuse they were enduring.The phrase “political bands” also reminds us that we are all inherently political. My civics teacher taught me that politics is simply the process of influencing policy that impacts more than one person. This definition reminds me that we make “political” decisions every day within many different units, including families, friendships, communities, churches, states, and our nation. This concept is central to understanding a “compound republic,” which requires us to recognize and respect different, distinct layers of government within a society.
“All men are created equal… endowed by their Creator…”
This is arguably the most powerful line in the entire document. It reflects the Christian truth that all humans are made in the image of God. Very few human societies throughout history have truly recognized this concept. For example, India’s traditional caste system restricts individuals based entirely on the status acquired at birth. Whatever caste you are born into is where you must stay until your next life and attempting to help someone lift themselves out of a lower caste is traditionally frowned upon. It would be incredibly difficult to form a unified “social compact” between two such opposing worldviews.
This contrast reminds me why a legal immigration process focused on assimilation is so vital. We cannot truly be “one” people without a shared baseline understanding of human nature and how our culture and society function.
“…Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
John Locke’s original philosophical phrase used the word “property” instead of “happiness,” but the founders worried that “property” was too narrow a term. Property is tangible and can be given or taken away. Furthermore, I think most people today think of property far too narrowly, equating it strictly with land, but it encompasses so much more. It includes monetary property, which dictates your purchasing power, which is why taxation and monetary policy matter so much. It also includes intellectual property, which is why we protect creators through patent laws.
More importantly, people rarely emphasize the word “pursuit.” The Declaration does not guarantee happiness itself, only our freedom to pursue it. This distinction is vital when we try to understand each other’s political worldview. Perfect happiness is only guaranteed in heaven, but the beauty of being an American is that we can freely enjoy the pursuit of it, and savor small tastes of it now. This stands in complete contrast to modern utopian philosophies that try to sell us a version of heaven on earth. Totalitarian governments built on communist or fascist ideals aspire to engineer a heaven on earth, but history clearly shows that this impossible pursuit only yields death and destruction.
“…deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”
I believe this principle is the absolute heart of the Declaration. Every single grievance listed by the founders following this line represents a violation of this core tenet. Similarly, all our modern political grievances can be traced back to this concept. Today, the most obvious and continuous violations of our social compact center on the topics of election integrity and borders. How can we respect the consent of the governed if citizens cannot trust the election systems used to determine their will? Likewise, how can we properly assimilate immigrants if the existing members of the social compact have not given their consent?
“…appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world… with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence…”
To those who label others a Christian Nationalist in a negative way, I ask: what is the alternative? Atheistic Globalism? For those who claim the founders were purely secularists rather than Christians, I ask you to open your eyes to this very document, which explicitly references God four times. Furthermore, when you visit Washington, D.C., what do you continually see carved into our monuments? If human rights are not granted by a power outside of government, then those rights can easily be revoked by the government. If we elect leaders who do not believe our rights come from God, they will assume they can rule as they please, so long as they can get away with it.
I once had a professor point out to me that God is mentioned in the Declaration but not in the Constitution. Back then, I didn’t understand what I do now: the Declaration is just as important as the Constitution. The Declaration is our national “mission statement”—it declares who we are and what we stand for. The Constitution is the legal framework that protects those principles and allows us to live them out. President Abraham Lincoln beautifully illustrated this relationship by referencing Proverbs 25:11, describing the Declaration as the “apple of gold” and the Constitution as the “frame of silver” designed to preserve it.
Lastly, I want to highlight the famous closing line:
“And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.”
Two prominent members of the Committee of Five tasked with drafting this document were Thomas Jefferson and John Adams. Remarkably, both men died on the exact same day: July 4, 1826—the 50th anniversary of the Declaration. Throughout their long years of public service, they were fierce political adversaries, yet they ended their lives as best friends. I believe that reconciliation was made possible by the shared pledge they made in 1776. That is the unifying power we can all access if we treasure the principles of the Declaration.
As we recognize this monumental 250th anniversary, my prayer is that our nation will find greater unity and that a renewed spirit of mutual sacrifice will be awakened in us all.
