We think of Nature as the thing we see at a National Park. We think of mountains and trees and animals. We think of "natural beauty," of "unspoiled nature," of "conserving our natural heritage."

Nature also has a wider meaning. It means something like "the way things are," or "the way of things." Dogs, by nature, follow their instincts. Acorns, by nature, grow into oak trees. Human beings, by nature, talk, think, and choose for themselves.

The Declaration of Independence is speaking of this larger sense of nature. The "laws of Nature" are the way things are. Or they are the "way of things." We know that things do not fall upwards. We know that dogs do not meow, nor cats bark. We know that giraffes have longs necks and armadillos have short ones.

Nature, then, is a solid thing. We can all perceive it. It is the way of things, including each of us, including each thing that can be seen and understood.

In some way or another, then, the ideas of the Declaration of Independence are found in this solid idea of Nature.

Evidence

The Declaration says, "all men are created equal." This does not mean that they are all equal in all ways. They are equal in some particular way that is the most important way. They have something essential in common.

In other words, they have the same "nature."

Men differ from horses. Horses cannot be free, and therefore they cannot have "a right to liberty." They cannot choose between good and bad, between right and wrong. Human nature is then different from horse nature.

Men differ from God. God does not require government for the defense of his rights. God does not make mistakes; He does not do evil. He is not vulnerable to others who do evil. Human nature is then different from Divine nature.

These differences of nature are the foundation upon which the Declaration of Independence is built. The Founders begin with the way things are. They do not, and they cannot, attempt to prove that things are this way. Anyone who can tell the difference between a man and a horse, can see the way things are in nature. Anyone who cannot, cannot be reasoned with.

These perceptions of nature are then "self-evident." They carry their own proof within themselves. Being human means being able to see the truth of them.

Evidence

We live in the age of "values." In the age of values, when we hear the word "truth," we know in an instant that there will be more than one opinion about it. And we know, or we think we know, that many of those opinions, will be just as good as the next one-and our own opinion might be just a little better.

The Declaration of Independence is a little hard to understand, here in the age of values, because right there at the beginning it makes a big announcement about the truth. "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal..."

Consider the tone of that statement. Who talks like that today? Not "we think"; not, "this is our view"; not, "this is our value." We hold this to be "true"; and also "self-evident."

The Declaration of Independence argues as if it expects the whole world to agree ("let facts be submitted to a candid world"). It argues as if anyone who disagrees, is flat wrong.

To see if this makes sense, we have to take the statements one by one and see if they make sense. Start with "self-evident truth."

"Self-evident truths" are all around us. We see them everywhere we look. Circles are not square. Triangles are different from rectangles. Horses are not men, and men are not angels.

You may be thinking, "is that all there is to it?" If that is all, then the Declaration of Independence is not really saying very much. All it is saying is that men are the same things as men. Pretty simple, after all. If you are thinking that, then you have got the question under control. The great self-evident truth in the Declaration is a simple proposition. Anyone who denies it is either being stubborn or is missing some marbles. If you can see that a horse is a horse, and not a cow, then you can see that "all men are created equal."

What is the big deal? Think a little further. You will soon see that this simple idea carries very big consequences.

Take the case of King George III. In 1776, he was the most powerful man in the most powerful nation on earth. He had that job for a simple reason: his grandfather was the King before him. King George III was born to it.

This was the way it had been in just about every country, in just about every time, in history. Hardly anyone had conceived the idea that, men being born equally men, they were equally entitled to govern. They were equally entitled to consent to the government under which they would live. Never mind who was the father of King George. King George will not be our ruler, unless we pick him to do it. That is our right.

This simple idea has altered dramatically the way that people think about government and law. It has made one of the greatest changes in human thought, in all of human history. It begins with the simple and undeniable truth that men are all equally men, that "all men are created equal."

Evidence

When we think of a law, we think of Congress or a city council. We think of them having a debate about a proposal, and then voting on it. When they pass it, then the President or maybe the mayor gets to sign it. If he signs it, then it becomes law.

We all know about this kind of law. We can think of dozens of examples. Don't go faster than 65 miles per hour. Stop at red lights; go on green ones. Don't take something that doesn't belong to you.

These are all things done by people, by men and women just like you and me. These laws do not exist until we make them. We can change them if enough of us want to change them.

This kind of law is human law. Among creatures, only humans make laws. Other kinds of creatures live by instinct, which means they follow the rules that are fixed in their natures without making choices about right and wrong. The Declaration of Independence speaks about human law. It says, for example, that when a government becomes destructive of rights, then people have a right to abolish it. Then, they are to "institute new Government... organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness." The details of government organization are then part of the human law. That is the law that we make ourselves, for ourselves, according to our own best judgment.

The Declaration mentions this kind of law. But mostly it is concerned with another kind of law. What is it?

We have seen that nature is "the way of things," or "the way things are." We have seen that there are two kinds of law: laws that are made by human beings, and some other laws that are not made by human beings. This second kind of law is quite beyond our power.

If we want to learn about a human law, we can look it up. Laws are written down in codes--big books full of laws. One can read them and see what they say.

The "laws of nature and of nature's God," or the "natural law," is a little different. It is not written down. It cannot be looked up in a code. How, then, can we know what it is?

We know about it by starting from the right beginning point, and then by reasoning.

The beginning points are called "first principles." We might also call them "self-evident truths." These are things that cannot be proved; we can just see them. Black is not white. Round is not square. Horses are not men. Men are not Divine. These are all facts of nature. Human beings are blessed with the ability to see these facts. That is the ability we call reason.

To understand the natural law, we must go beyond the mere perception of these facts. We must reason--we must think--a little about them. Why, for example, is slavery wrong?

First, what is slavery? A slave is a human being who belongs to another human being, his master. His master gets to tell him what to do. His master owns everything that he makes.

Second, a fact of nature: humans are the creatures who can think, who can choose for themselves, and who are responsible for the choices they make.

Now, think about slavery. It takes away the ability of a human to choose for himself how to live, to provide himself with his own living.

Slavery is then a violation of nature. It is a violation of a natural right. It deprives a person of something that is his by nature.

Evidence

One cannot help but notice that there is a lot of talk about God in the Declaration of Independence. He is named four times in the Document:

1. As a law giver, the author of "the laws of nature and of nature's God."
2. As a maker, the "Creator" who endowed us with our unalienable rights.
3. As a judge, "the Supreme Judge of the world."
4. As a protector, "Divine Providence" to whom we look for protection.

The Declaration of Independence looks up at God, in a spirit of humility, in acknowledgement of His supremacy. The authors appeal to His authority for the basis of their action in making the revolution. They do this by referring, right in the first sentence, to their entitlement under the "laws of nature and of nature's God," to a "separate and equal station" "among the powers of the earth." They seek His protection. They acknowledge that their rights are a gift from Him, beyond their power to alter, or alienate.