One of the core principles of the Declaration of Independence has always been that all people have unalienable rights and that any authority to secure those rights has come from the people’s approval. The declaration reads, “That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”
But according to a recent poll, that is a sentiment most voters feel the government no longer represents.
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A new Rasmussen Reports poll revealed that most voters believe the federal government “no longer has the consent of the governed.” Nearly 6 out of 10 (59%) voters feel this way. Conversely, only 25% of voters believe the legislators embody the spirit of the declaration and represent the consent of the governed. Another 16% responded they weren’t sure.
Furthermore, the survey showed that less than 1 in 5 voters (19%) felt “the average member of Congress listens most to the voters he or she represents." Conversely, 67% of voters believe congressional representatives “listen most to party leaders in Congress.”
This extends across voters from all political parties, with most Democrats (59%), Republicans (69%), and unaffiliated voters (74%) feeling that the congressional representatives listen mostly to party leaders instead of voters, according to Rasmussen.
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The poll results are shocking revelations highlighting the significant disconnect between the country’s people and the politicians they elect to represent them. Moreover, it also expresses a troubling concern that, at some point, must be acknowledged to sustain our country’s original political values.
If the people who elect the politicians to govern no longer have faith they are upholding the tenets of the declaration, then at some point, the country will no longer be, to quote another famous historical document, “a government of the people, by the people, for the people.”