The Declaration of Independence...America's first document of liberty.  When is the last time you read it, or maybe you've never read it all?  Why is it important that we even know it?  For a document that is the foundation America was built upon, we don't hear much about the Declaration of Independence except on the Fourth of July.  Even then, America's first document of liberty takes a backseat to barbecues, parades, and fireworks.  

Schools certainly don't teach the Declaration of Independence with the same intensity as they do America's inherent racism, gender identity, and climate change.  

Is it any wonder this country is weakening and possibly dying?  Much like gender confusion, we're not sure who we are as Americans. 

How did this happen, this radical yet gradual transformation?  Why is the only thought uniting us right now "What the heck is happening to this country?" 

The answer is simple.  For generations, we farmed out our stewardship of liberty from ourselves to the government.  

This was and is a tragedy in its truest definition.  Picture us as the sheep, giving wolves the power to shepherd us.  

Let's get this straight: government is God's divine construct for the people's protection and, therefore, necessary.  The problem is, historically, that man's fallen nature and insatiable lust for more power corrupts governments.  Unfortunately, America is a testament to that truism of man's fallen nature and insatiable lust for power as we slouch into tyranny.  

Patriotic Americans have an inherent hatred of tyranny.  It's in our DNA because tyranny sparked the American colonies to break away from the British crown.  Hence the Declaration of Independence. 

Those educated in the American public school system may have forgotten that the Declaration of Independence was a formal assertion by the people of the right to choose their own government.  The first document of liberty presented to the world the colonists' case for revolution against British rule.

Here's the part most people know about 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. 

Powerful and timeless words — a resounding testament to the wisdom of the Founding Fathers.  But guess what: those words are the second paragraph of the Declaration. 

What's in the opening paragraph, the opening statement of their case?  This:  

In Congress, July 4, 1776 The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, 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, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. 

In this introduction is the justification to separate from British rule according to the Laws of Nature and of God, the Creator of Nature.  Simply put, they declared their revolution a righteous cause.

And here's what follows that section about "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness": 

—That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,

—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, 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.  

Governments are instituted deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.  This means that the government has power only if we consent to it.  Put another way, government serves with our consent.

"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."  This is the part that our rulers want to keep the younger generation ignorant of: their right to get rid of government that's become destructive.  It's a Right with a capital R to remove it and replace it with a government dedicated to protecting the country and the people.  

Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly 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.  

Of course, the Founders, in their brilliant wisdom, cautioned that that nothing is casual about revolution.  It opens the door to the ugliness and brutality of war.  Revolution can also be a double-edged sword: the government you get might be worse than the previous.  A classic example was the French Revolution.  Two modern examples include the communist takeover of Cuba (1959), led by Fidel Castro, and the overthrow of the Shah of Iran (1979). 

As follows, the colonists took the course of revolution with prudent deliberation and presented their case to England and the world. 

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.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world. 

The Founders then lay out in detail the long train of abuses and usurpations, which you can read here.  Read and re-read, especially the passages made challenging because of the English of the time.  Use a dictionary if needed. 

After the extensive checklist of abuses comes the build-up to the robust climax, beginning with this statement: 

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people. 

That paragraph is timely.  Seems like déjà vu all over again. 

The Founders ensured that our system of redress lay in our vote.  But what is the state of our vote in America now?  Instead of defending that sacred vote of the citizenry, bought and blackmailed politicians legislate to weaken our power at the ballot box. 

Who is fighting for us?  Local district attorneys?  Many of them are corrupt.  The Legislature?  They are beholden to the DNC and the RNC instead of local interests.  Congressmen and senators?  With few exceptions, party interests trump the people.  Federal judges?  Certain jurisdictions place partisan politics above the rule of law.  The president?  The compromised Biden administration is America-last first and always.  

So here we are, a sea of enemies within.  It is up to us, the people.  But what do we do?  The odds seem against us. 

Now you have an idea of what the 56 signers of the Declaration must have felt.  Read the last line before the signatures: 

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. 

Divine Providence is the governance of the God throughout His creation.  The Founders were mostly God-fearing men who placed their faith and trust in His perfect will. 

Many of these men lost their lives, fortunes and even families.  As for their sacred honor, it has stood the test of time. 

We have forgotten the meaning of the Declaration of Independence.  In the times we are living, this blissful ignorance is not just unacceptable; it is negligence.  

By not knowing the origin, the inflection points of this country, and the sacrifices made, we allow scoundrels to dictate who we are. 

Make it your mission to study this fundamental deed of freedom.  This is not a call for violence or revolution, but a clarion to throw off the spiritual and intellectual chains of Marxism, socialism, and communism that have clouded our thinking and divided us. 

Become inspired by the faith and trust the Founding Fathers had for God.  Learn America's first document of liberty to the point where you can articulate it for anyone, especially your children and grandchildren.  We will re-embrace our American heritage when we fear God more than man. 

Dex Bahr blogs at the Discerning Pundit.com and is the author of the book No Christian Man Is an Island: Leading the Spiritual Quest in America's Culture Wars.  His latest book, American Christian: A Treatise of Spiritual, Cultural, and Political Discernment will be released in November. 

Image: Josh Hallett via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0.