Changes

<blockquote>"[A]ll men are created equal...[and] are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, [[Liberty]] and the pursuit of Happiness."</blockquote>  

<blockquote>"[A]ll men are created equal...[and] are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, [[Liberty]] and the pursuit of Happiness."</blockquote>  

It is important to understand that the very premise of our nation is the fact that these [[rights]], based on [[Natural Law]], are "[[God-given]]." If they are not given to us by an Authority higher than human [[government]], then any government action to abolish those rights would be against God's will. Rights that are subject to government restriction or [[license]] are called a [[privilege]] rather than a right. The [[Founding Fathers]] understood this principle and created a [[Republicanism|revolution]] in political theory by enacting, for the first time in [[history]], a government specifically established to protect the rights that had been given to man by God.

It is important to understand that the very premise of our nation is the fact that these [[rights]], based on [[Natural Law]], are "[[God-given]]." If they are given to us by an Authority higher than human [[government]], then any government action to abolish those rights would be against God's will. Rights that are subject to government restriction or [[license]] are called a [[privilege]] rather than a right. The [[Founding Fathers]] understood this principle and created a [[Republicanism|revolution]] in political theory by enacting, for the first time in [[history]], a government specifically established to protect the rights that had been given to man by God.

<blockquote>"That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of [[citizen|the governed]]." </blockquote>

<blockquote>"That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of [[citizen|the governed]]." </blockquote>

The proper role of government is to secure rights, as in a perfect state of nature our unalienable rights are very insecure.

The proper role of government is to secure rights, as in a perfect state of nature our unalienable rights are each person's responsibility to insure. Acts by one or a group that violates these rights is rightly labeled a criminal, as it is a crime to violate another person's inalienable rights. Hence, government can be delegated with the power to pursue, prosecute and punish the criminal(s).

==Background==

==Background==