Fred Koschara

Consider the following statements, made in the opening paragraphs of the Declaration of Independence which severed the ties between Great Britain and thirteen of her colonies in North America, leading to the formation of the United States of America:

( To read the full text of the U.S. Declaration of Independence, you can visit any public library in the U.S., look in almost any encyclopedia, or search the Web. One page which has the full document displayed is http://www.foundingfathers.info/documents/decindep.html - or at least it was there when this page was written... )

The founding fathers of this nation stated their belief that everyone has inalienable rights - rights which cannot be taken away - which include the rights of life, liberty, AND the pursuit of happiness. They also stated their belief that governments get their power from the consent of the governed, AND that the purpose of government is to secure their rights.

How, then, is it that this government so often acts without the consent of the governed? Why, then, does this government so often act to remove and/or restrict the rights of its citizens? These actions are not the "just powers" the founding fathers of this nation sought to establish: In fact, they are in direct opposition to the very basis of the spirit AND the letter of the documents on which this once-great nation was founded.

When the foundation of a building has been compromised, it cannot long stand. The same holds true of nations.

When your rights of liberty and the pursuit of happiness have been attacked, or even removed, your right to your life will not be far behind.