Declaration of Independence and System of Government - Essay Example

Quotations The first quote that I will be examining will be quote 04. There is much that I do not agree with in this ment, at least with regards to this country. For instance, there is the quote that our government in in the hands of the many and not of the few. This is not true at all, at least not now. The reason why this particular quote is not true is because I believe that our government is in the hands of the few, and these few are those who control our government with money. There are corporations who can and do give exorbitant amounts of money to our government representatives, in the hopes that this money will result in favorable legislation for them. Why else would our government continue to allow tax breaks and subsidies to oil companies? These companies certainly do not need subsidies, yet they continue to get them. In the meantime, there are many poor people who rely on basic government services, and see these services being cut, year after year. It angers me that the money that is given to oil companies could be used for much better causes, and this is just one glaring example. Our health system is broken, in part because of the big lobbying money that is given by the health care industry and, especially, the pharmaceutical companies. Our Congress will not raise taxes on the wealthy, because of all the money that the wealthy gives these congressional representatives and senators to make sure that this doesn't happen. Sure, on the surface, we live in a democracy, but when one really gets down to it, we really don't – we increasingly live in a country that is by the wealthy and for the wealthy. As for the rest of the quote, it does seem like this envisions a country that is a little bit less complex than our society. For instance, this quote talks about there being equal justice to all and alike. This might be true in some areas, not so much true in others. It is a common fact that African Americans represent, proportionally, a high percentage of our prison population, so this implies that justice is not always equal. Distinguished citizens might prefer public service, but they often do not, preferring to work for profit just like anybody else might. Poverty is an obstacle to advancement in this country, although there are some who work their way up from poverty, this is true. But if a person is in poverty, that person does have much longer odds in making it in this world than people who are not in poverty. They do not have the same educational opportunities, they do not have the advantage of a stable home many times, and they face prejudice and discrimination in their lives often because of who they are. So, while a man “may benefit his country whatever the obscurity of his condition,” this is often not true, more often than not. The quote that states that we are not angry with our neighbor if he does what he likes might be true in some cases - there certainly are a good share of people who are “live and let live” types. But there are others who make everybody else's business their own - if this were not true, then we would have gay marriage in all 50 states. Moreover, part of the quote implies that “we are prevented from doing wrong by respect for the authorities and the laws.” This is true for some, but certainly not true for all. This country certainly has its share of lawlessness, and this is true for most people - every time a person speeds in his or her car, they are technically breaking the law, and there is certainly crime that is rampant in this country as well. In short, this quote assumes that there is some kind of perfect country. Our country isn't perfect. It's messy, people commit crimes, others have to be in others' businesses, and there isn't enough attention to the poor. That said, this quote may also be seen as true for a certain percentage of the population, so this quote is not entirely true, nor entirely false. The next quote that will be examined will be quote number 10. This is that all men are created equal and they are endowed by their Creator to the rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Putting aside the truth that, at the time that this document was written, there were many men who were enslaved, therefore they were not considered equal, and that women during this time certainly were not considered equal (which is the reason why this document didn't bother to say that “all men and women are considered equal”), it seems that, in the modern era, this is correct and incorrect at the same time. As noted above, this country seems to be in the clutches of the very wealthy, who dictate our policies, and, therefore, it seems that the wealthy individuals are more equal than the rest of us. And there are plenty of immigrants who cannot partake in the bounty of his country, so they aren't created as equal as others either. As for being able to pursue life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness – this might be true, but we have capital punishment, which means that those individuals are not free to pursue life. We have an unequal health system, and many do not have health insurance, which basically means if these individuals contract a deadly disease, they are likely to die from it, because they don't have access to health care. Those individuals seem to have a right to life, but, if they don't have access to health care, than they really don't have access to life. At least not as much as the wealthy do in this country. Do we have a right to liberty? As long as our gay brothers and sisters are not allowed to marry, then, no, not everybody is entitled to the same amount of liberty as everyone else. Moreover, there are too many laws which restrict our liberty – for instance, we do not have the liberty to smoke marijuana in the privacy of our own home, at least if we don't want to break any laws. We also might have the right to pursue happiness, but even this is regulated in this country to a certain extent. For instance, if a person's idea of happiness is visiting a prostitute, then that person doesn't have the right to pursue this. As for deriving the governmental powers by the consent of the governed – as noted above, our country is in the hands of the wealthy, and the wealthy seem to be the voice of the governed that our government listens to, not the rest of us. What is interesting is that this quotation also says that the people have a right to overthrow the government if it is no longer working for the people. This is in the case where there are abuses and usurpations. The founding fathers who wrote this document foresaw that there might be another instance of tyranny or despotism, such as what happened under King George during the colonial American period. While it is true that we don't live under a tyrant or a despot, it might seem that our government is so broken that it might need to be fixed somehow. Our congress can't seem to pass any laws or agree upon anything, so the result is gridlock and nothing getting done. Our country is not going in a very good direction – the rich are getting richer, and the rest of the country is suffering through stagnant wages and the after-effects of globalization. This has resulted in a general period of malaise and unrest, and the feeling that the men and women in Washington are not working for us at all. And they aren't. They are working for their wealthy benefactors, and this isn't right. Perhaps a system of government would be more efficient if it is more modeled on the Parliamentary system - one party controls the government, so that party has a chance to enact its agenda with minimal opposition. Then, if that party doesn't succeed, it's time for the opposition party to get a try. The point of the matter is, under such a system, at least something gets done. It might work for the country, or it might not, but there is at least some kind of proactive movement going on in such a system. Since our system of government isn't working for the people, it might be time to try something new. The founding fathers understood that this might be a possibility, and this is something that certainly should be considered. Read More