Letter to the Editor: Happy Fourth of July

By KEN LARSEN Salt Lake City

Happy Fourth of July to the Entire World.
I just finished reading The Unanimous Declaration of the Thirteen United States of America.
It is my custom to read this document at least every Fourth of July. The Utah Constitution says, “Frequent recurrence to fundamental principles is essential to the security of individual rights and the perpetuity of free government.” (Art I, Sec 27) I suppose “frequent” means more often than once a year. Those fundamental principles are in the Declaration of Independence. It just might be the most important non-religious document ever written by man. Surely, it belongs in the heart of every freedom-loving human. Those fundamental principles are eloquently listed in the second paragraph of the Declaration. They are five:
1. We are all equal. I am not aware of any government accepting that principle before July 4, 1776. No class distinctions. No aristocracy. All are equal before the law. Perhaps they didn’t practice it, but, they dared to say it. It remains as an ideal yet to be achieved.
2. Each of us has equal rights that must not be violated. Those rights include our life and its defense. They include the freedom to choose any action or activity that we believe will make us happy. These rights are only to be limited by the first principle, that we are all equal and none of us has the right to violate the equal rights of others. Again, this principle remains an ideal yet to be achieved.
3. The only just purpose of government is to secure the personal rights of every individual within its jurisdiction. This, too, is a principle we will achieve in the future. We will achieve it because we will not forget it.
4. All just power of government comes from the people. We are not one nation under God. We are one nation under the people. Then the people, as individuals, choose how they will relate to God or Goddess, if at all. We, the People, established the Constitution of the United States. The government does not give rights to the people. We give rights to the government.
5. When the government goes beyond our boundaries, it is the right and the duty of the people to bring the government back under control, even if they have to replace it.
There are the fundamental principles of Americanism. They belong to all humanity. Let us all work, peacefully when we can, to bring all the governments of the world under these principles. Let us use political systems, when it is possible, and other means, when it is necessary, to make this dream a reality. Let us all pledge our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honors to make it happen as quickly and orderly as we can before the world completes it’s current rush into another Dark Age of ethnic warfare.