Question asked originally on Yahoo! Answers - Original Link
My Answer:
"When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands... and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them...
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 whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government... most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness...
all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed...
But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object... it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States...
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." - John Hancock, from the Declaration of Independence
Followed by the signature of every representative of every one of the 13 colonies, the first ones to truly call themselves Americans.
The day we blindly accept it when our "unalienable Rights" are either taken away from us or put in danger, the day when we close our eyes when we should see and mouths when we should speak, that will be the day when the American Flag will be nothing more than garbage, a meaningless piece of cloth... the funeral of the American Dream.
To be American means to defend these unalienable Rights before your own life, so that not only you, but also your posterity, may enjoy them.
To be American means to be willing to stand up for your beliefs, no matter at what cost, to stand together for the well being of all.
To be American has nothing to do with Geography, nothing to do with where your birth certificate says you were born. It's about what you stand up for, and what sacrifices you're willing to make.
The government is an expedient, a tool, for the well being of all, not a ruler. The one who rules us is our good conscience. And when our good conscience tells us that something is not right, that something must be changed so that everyone may enjoy the right to "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness", it is the right and the DUTY, of everyone who calls themselves American, not only to complain about it, but to do something about it, and to never stop until every single one of their countrymen is guaranteed these unalienable rights.
All of you who think that being a patriot means to blindly follow your government no matter what, you're not worthy of calling yourself American, no matter where you were born, you're not worthy of standing under the American flag, for those who gave you these rights 232 years ago were willing to die so that you may enjoy these rights. If you're willing to throw them away, together with all the sacrifice that was made so that you could have them, without a fight, without saying anything, you're the one who should leave the United States of America. Go live under and support a dictatorship elsewhere, you're not needed here.
The United States of America is not just a place you live in, but an Ideal, that you live by, and defend with your own life, not just in war, but with your everyday actions. This includes calling for change when it is needed, and implementing it by any means when it is necessary, not just abroad, but mainly, and firstly, at home.
"4Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?
5Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye." - Matthew 7:4-5
While I don't claim to follow any specific religion, I believe some religious beliefs hold true through reason, regardless of faith.
No comments:
Post a Comment