Never forgotten

What if you worked really hard on one thing just to have it all thrown down the drain? For example, say you've been working on an art project for most of your life. All you do is think about it, wrestle with it and keep going through with it even when you get bogged down and you want to dump it. You've messed up, tried again and again, and then, finally, you finish it. You present it to your family and friends, who all give you positive feedback and congratulations. So, then you send it to an art expedition and…it's a total disaster. The public says it's terrible and unfit to show. In other words, they hated it. How are you feeling now? Discouraged, depressed, sad, upset, angry, hurt and unfair are probably going through your head. I wonder if that's how our founding fathers would feel if they were to observe our nation today. I imagine they'd be feeling a mixture of wonderment and wistfulness. I mean, they created a very fine nation that's grown and matured, but from what I've seen, we've kind of thrown some of it away. One of those examples is that some people don't believe that the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution apply today. Well, I know that both those documents are important and still matter. Without them we wouldn't have the same great nation we have today. How do I know? Allow me to explain.

I read a book by Gerald N. Lund called The Freedom Factor; it's all about a guy named Bryce Sherwood and how he learns the importance of the Constitution. Bryce is Senator Benjamin Hawkes' aide and, at the time, he is helping Hawkes to pass an amendment that will erase the checks and balances in the Constitution. Soon Nathaniel Gorham, one of the signers of the Constitution, comes to Bryce and transports him to a world where the Constitution never existed. There Bryce learns why the Constitution is so critical to our country. The US is spilt into different colonies, so to speak. I personally found the book very eye-opening. Mr. Lund is only guessing at what our nation would be like without the Constitution but he diffidently got his point across: we need the Constitution. Our founding fathers labored diligently for us. They argued and thought their brains out to make our nation the best they could and the least we can do is put their hard work to good use. In the Constitution it says, "We, the people." It's not "We, the government." We, as in you, me and everyone. You don't have to be the President or a member of the government to make a difference.

Furthermore the Declaration of Independence is just as meaningful as the Constitution. The Declaration of Independence is literally our declaration of independence. We separated from Great Britain and our founding fathers wrote the document to prove it. To prove that we were serious and we would not back down until we got our freedom and independence. And we did. We did it even though we were up against what looked like unbeatable odds. As Winston Churchill would later say, "We fight not for glory, not for riches, not for honor; we fight only and alone for freedom, which no good man surrenders, save with his life." All the men, women and even children who gave their time, effort and sometimes even their lives, deserve, from us, a kind of tribute. And I think one of the best ways to do that would be to honor them by honoring our country and founding fathers. That means putting our foot in there and speaking up, doing what we can to help our nation.

So, maybe you still think that these documents don't apply or matter in this day and age. Well, I'd like to ask a question. Are you religious? If so, do you believe in the Bible? If you are not religious, then I'd like to ask, do you believe in ancient history? Now, let me tell you this, the Bible, ancient Greece, Rome and Egypt; all that came before both the Declaration of Independence and Constitution. Do you think that the principles in the Bible apply today? Do you believe that Archimedes helped to shape our world today? If all that is true, then why can't the Constitution and The Declaration of Independence also apply and matter in this era? I can't see why not. I mean, they're just as important, although maybe a foot or two behind the Bible, but still, very critical to our nation. The Constitution is where we get the right of free speech and our choice of religion, among other rights. The Declaration of Independence tells us that all men are equal and it lists the twenty seven reasons why the colonists wanted to break free of Great Britain. (And actually, if we were to look at the list of grievances we might see some that are going on today.) This declaration also tells us "that whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or 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." It also says "that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, then 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 evinces a design to reduce then 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." That means that we, the people, need to be getting our hands dirty, not standing back watching others do it. It means that we need to come out of our shells and change what needs to be changed. And not only that, but it's our right as citizens, in fact it's our duty to do it. So, jump off the fence and dive right in. We've got to preserve our nation. As the wise Abraham Lincoln said in his Gettysburg Address, "It is for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us - that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion - that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -  that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom - and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." To me all that says that it's our nation, so we need to fight for the freedom and liberty of it and never back down. We need to, as they say, "fight the good fight." In this case we're fighting for a lasting nation and freedom.

So, the next time someone says that the Declaration of Independence doesn't matter, tell them that it does. It applied then and so it applies now. Why wouldn't it? Just because it was written decades ago? To me that just sounds like an excuse. Our founding fathers, their work and effort, those precious, meaningful, important things should never be forgotten.

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This is the speech that I was going to give in my online class. I spent about a month or two preparing this speech and then I wrote a timed essay (Becoming who you were born to be) that I really liked so I didn't give this one in class.