Editor's Note: The following essay was completed as a school assignment by a twelve year old student from Chester County. 
 

The ideals of the Declaration of Independence were based on the founding father's complete understanding that we have been given unalienable rights by our Creator; life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  These men recognized that the purpose of government should be to secure and protect these God-given rights.  They also understood that it was the right and duty of the people to “alter or to abolish” “any Form of Government” that becomes “destructive of these ends”, and to institute a new government that would again stand on these beliefs.  

The founding fathers believed this so strongly, that in making this Declaration, they stated their “firm reliance on the Protection of Divine Providence”, and they pledged to each other their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor.

 Throughout our country's history, we have had our struggles in holding fast to these ideals.  However, good people have fought to keep our country strong and true to these beliefs.  Freedom is not free, and many have lost their lives fighting for it.  Although there were many opinions on how the country should be run, there was an underlying belief and trust in God.

 Unfortunately, in the last century, our country has strayed further and further away from the truths in the Declaration of Independence.  Government has attempted to remove all mention of our Creator, and thereby removing the very beliefs this country was founded on. If we fail to believe in the Creator, we will soon slip into the belief that our rights come from government, which can then alter or eliminate them.  

The role of government is to protect our rights, not to intrude on our freedoms.  The government has slowly departed from the duty of protecting our rights, and has increasingly taken on the job of providing goods and services.  This was never the intent of the founding fathers.  Our country desperately needs to get back to the truths on which it was founded upon.
 

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