There was much to celebrate and be grateful for last Saturday as the US marked the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

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The declaration contained two of the most momentous concepts for humans: that humans are created equal with inalienable rights and that power is derived from the consent of the governed.

At the time, these were radical concepts indeed. Before then, humans had birthrights of rank or class and rulers drew their power by those birthrights through the doctrine of divine right. Or rulers drew power from conquest with the assertion that the conquest must have been divine will. That was the natural order of things and woe to anyone who objected.

Now "born to rule" is a derogatory expression. Legitimacy of action by government or even by the smallest organisation is gained by "putting it to a vote".

The application of the two concepts - equality and consent - to government have contributed immensely to human happiness and freedom from fear.

Of course, the concepts were not fully applied from the date of the declaration. Slaves, women, and an array of minorities defined by race, religion, and sexuality did not obtain anything like equality for a long time.

Further, equality and consent of the governed are far from universal. But they have stood as aspirations both inside and outside the United States for the whole 250 years.

The declaration was the basis upon which the Constitution and Bill of Rights were founded. The Constitution separated the legislative, judicial and executive branches of government. This provided checks and balances that ensured that the Executive President did not wield too much power or wield power in an arbitrary way that infringed upon individual rights.

In short, the declaration, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights provided a model to which other nations could aspire. It gave rise to the notion of American exceptionalism - that........

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