Page 2 THE BATTALION WEDNESDAY, JUNE 30, 1976 Declaration of Independence needs more consideration When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God enti tle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. We hold these truths to be self- evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalien able rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of hap piness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of gov ernment becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown, that man kind are more disposed to suffer. Readers’ Forum Guest viewpoints, in addition to Listen Up letters, are wel come. All pieces submitted to Aggie Forum should be: • Typed triple space • Limited to 60 characters per line • Limited to 100 lines Submit articles to Reed McDonald 217, College Sta tion, Texas, 77843. Author’s phone number must accom pany all submissions. while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accus tomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under abso lute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such gov ernment, and to provide new guards for their future security. The Declaration establishes that humans have rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, among others. Inherent in every right is a corre sponding responsibility. Rights tend to disintegrate if they are not exer cised or protected. If a majority of Americans as indi viduals will not accept the respon sibilities attendant to those rights, those responsibilities will be exer cised by a minority. The political disillusionment of many young people today leads one to believe that there may be a crisis involving fundamental human rights in the United States in the near fu ture. Individuals must continue to par^ ticipate in the democratic process or else be willing to submit themselves to the laws of a governing elite. Eventually, when the rights estab lished at the founding are forgotten, and the people feel they are not being represented, the only way open to the people is the exercise of the last right clearly established in the Declaxation — the right to re volt. Every American at this time in our history should ask himself if he has fulfilled his responsibilities and truly deserves the rights granted him. — Jerry Needham =rr cs==o Wm^Rou lTa