Civics 101: Declaration of Independence

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

In the next week we will celebrate the 235th anniversary of the ratification of the Declaration of Independence. Written by Thomas Jeffferson and signed by 56 men including John Hancock, John Adams and Benjamin Franklin, the courageous actions of these men still guides our nation more than two centuries later.

• What was the Declaration of Independence all about?
• Who was the principal author of the Declaration?
• Where was the Declaration aadopted? 
• When was the Declaration adopted? 
• Why didn't George Washington sign the Declaration of Independence?
• Where is the original Declaration of Independence located?

Answers:
http://www.earlyamerica.com/declaration-quiz.html

Will we be able to look back on this election and know we each acted honorably?

When I was in Girl Scouts we played a game where one person in the circle would whisper something in the ear of the girl next to her. She, in turn, would repeat it to the next girl, and on it would go around the circle. Consistently, by the time the secret made it all around the circle, it would be distorted beyond recognition.

I also remember reading an article several years ago about a mom busy with kids and a job who explained that she didn’t have time in her life to read so she made all of her political selections based on a two-page newsletter she received every month. No matter what or how important the issue, she just believed everything in the newsletter.

Welcome to Irving City Elections.

In the past several weeks I have received e-mails and other materials written by people who were near the end of the circle, hearing stories that have been retold time after time. They make judgments based on half the story and then pass it on to the next person. No fact checking, no consideration of other factors that may be relevant.

Although not being a fully-informed voter is irresponsible, many of these e-mails and blogs are especially destructive for us a community and as individuals when they are written in the tone of an adolescent replete with offensive name calling. I don’t care who the candidate is or what the issue, we demean ourselves by abandoning all respect for the person or office in pursuit of “winning.” Does mocking an individual by referring to him/her with some derogatory name characteristic of a middle school bully really make us better people or elevate the public conversation constructively?

I know that distilling complex issues—like the Entertainment Center—into simple sound bites is easier to digest but we do ourselves a great disservice by choosing our leaders by refusing to look beyond the sound bites. Meet the candidates. E-mail questions to them. Come to a candidate forum. There are several scheduled before the election. (There is a list of upcoming forums on our home page, IrvingOnline.com.)

This election will end soon. Let’s make sure that, whatever the outcome, we can look at ourselves in the mirror and know that we each acted honorably and responsibly.