Saving the Declaration of Independence - Essay Example

Why I Would Save the Declaration of Independence If there was one document that I would save for future generations, it would be the Declaration of Independence. The reason for this is simple – although the Declaration of Independence does not present a world that is at all the reality of the situation, it does give future generations a road map to what they might do to form a more perfect union, and have a country that is better than what it is now. The document is full of utopian ideas that our country has long since strayed from, but it does not always have to be that way. There can be a time when our country reads the Declaration of Independence and takes its words to heart, and they can come together and have the country that is infinitely better than what it is now. For instance, there is the ideal that our government should be in the hands of many, and not in the hands of a few. As I noted in an earlier essay, our country does not reflect this ideal right now. The government has allowed special interests and big corporations to have too much power. Why else would alternative energy be stifled, and not given enough government money to grow, and oil and gas industries continue to get subsidies? Why else would our health system be so broken? Why else can we not have any kind of meaningful gun laws? It seems that there are many inefficiencies in our country and that our country is slow to reform many industries, simply because these industries are too powerful. They scare our lawmakers, while simultaneously give them large campaign donations, so our lawmakers consciously make laws and policy that benefit the few at the expense of the many. But it doesn't have to be this way. It's not supposed to be this way. Our government is supposed to be for the many, not the few. Which means that policies and laws should be drawn up to benefit the masses, not just the big guys in society. Our lawmakers should therefore listen to the words of the founding fathers when the founding fathers said that our government is supposed to work to serve the many. They don't now, but imagine if we didn't have the Declaration of Independence for future generations to read and understand. Then there wouldn't be any impetus to change. Not that there is impetus to change, now, but there should be, and the Declaration of Independence can provide this impetus, perhaps, one day. Also, there is the quote about equal justice to all alike. Again, as noted in the prior essay, this is an ideal that is not being met. The poor do not get as much justice as the rich, simply because the poor cannot afford to hire the best legal counsel to get them out of situations, the same as the rich do. Just one example of this is the case that I read recently where a rich kid killed three people while driving drunk. He got 10 years probation because he suffered from “affluenza,” which is basically an affliction that rich kids get because their parents never set limits for them. I could never imagine a poor kid getting the same kind of break, so this is a good example of the rich being entitled to better justice than the poor. Again, however, this is not how a just society should work. And the Declaration of Independence, with the emphasis on equal justice for all, can provide the road map that lawmakers need to make sure that justice is more equal between the rich and the poor, the black and the white, etc. This is something that simply must be done if our society is going to prosper and thrive. We cannot forget that this is one of the basic tenets of a justice society, and the Declaration of Independence is there to remind us of this fact. And the part about all men being created equal is also a very important part of the Declaration of Independence. Because that is how it should be in this world. That, no matter the color of one's skin, or one's sexual orientation, there should not be any kind of prejudice or discrimination against the person. That is basic, absolutely basic, and it's something that is something that is increasingly missing from today's society. We aren't created equal, but this is certainly something that should happen. I'm tired of this society being one where some people are created more equal than others, at least in the eyes of the law and society. That rich people are more equal than poor, whites are more equal than blacks, straight people are more equal than gays, native born Americans are more equal than immigrants. This isn't how it is supposed to be. And the Declaration of Independence makes this perfectly clear. It is wrong to treat others as if they are not equal to certain members of society. The Declaration of Independence says that this is wrong. So, this is certainly something that our society should pay special heed to in generations to come. Our society needs to strive more for social justice and equality, and it is imperative to do so. The Declaration of Independence is what makes this an imperative. Conclusion Our society is imperfect, to say the very least. At the core of our imperfection is the fact that we don't have equality in this society. The rich are what control our governments and laws, and there is not a sense of equal justice among the groups in society. There is not the sense that all men are created equal. Yet, the Declaration of Independence demands that we are created more equal. Why can't our society strive to live up to those words? The answer to this is complex, of course, as much as our society is complex and as much as our society is made up of individuals, as opposed to a collective whole. But, even if it is complex, these words still leave our society for ideals to strive for, and might even provide a road map for how to get there. It seems that our society lost our way a long time ago, but it doesn't always have to be this way. There is a way for society to become more just, and that is through heeding the words of our founding fathers. For this reason, the Declaration of Independence is the document that is important to preserve for future generations. Read More