In my life, I've met few people who have actually read the United States' Declaration of Independence.
In my life, I've never witnessed an election year as volatile as this one. As a rule, I keep my religious and political opinions to myself, especially since most people prefer to talk about theirs and not ask and listen attentively to those of another.
And there's certainly been plenty of chatter this year.
For those voting this year in the U.S., here are five quotes from the declaration. These are not meant to sway your vote in one direction or the other.
But hopefully they encourage thoughtful (and not emotion-driven) choices. Voting is a hands-on way to state your preferences.
May reason, ethics, and common sense guide your hand today.
“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…”
“We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury.”
“But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.”
“…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, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”
“…with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.”
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