Jefferson's Government

Government exists to ensure that its people have all of their "unalienable" rights, and if it infringes on those rights, the people have the duty to abolish it and implement a new form of government. This is Thomas Jefferson's view of the purpose of government present in our Declaration of Independence. It is very interesting to note that he does not specify which type of government should be enacted. A democracy? A republic? Or, perhaps, a monarchy? Did he not know which type would work best? Did he think it was so obvious that it need not be said? Or, did he recognize the faults of man in implementing government ideas, so he left it open for the people to decide?

I'd like to think it was the last question. No one knows what he was thinking, but it's kind of fun to guess. Perhaps he knew that a new government would start off right, but then the habits of men would lead to corruption of that form, and thus a new government would be created. Maybe he wasn't that cynical (is that the right word?). Back then, there were truths that were recognized like honor and integrity that he thought would never come into question especially among the leaders of our country. Political positions were never supposed to be a career goal. They were supposed to be occupied by good citizens who were willing to sacrifice out of duty and loyalty to our country. I wonder what it would be like if that would have been the case. We would have elections, but not with all the hullabalooh of fancy campaigning and deceptive slogans and promises. I'm sorry to say, but I think I'm the cynical one here.