The Declaration of Independence is not a viable document today because the "unalienable rights" that serves as its basis for discussion are presently compromised and sometimes abolished altogether by our own government. A clear example of this fact is when the right of "life" is completely taken away by giving a person accused of murder gets the death penalty at his trial.
The justice system, as well as most people today in the US, believe that we should punish those who commit murder by murdering them also, or in nicer, less incriminating words; by giving them the death penalty. A reason as to why people claim we should take these murderer's lives is because people say that, by killing them, we can be reassured that they will never kill anyone else again. But there are better ways to prevent the latter from occurring is simply by putting them in jail.
Another reason as to why people are for the death penalty is because people feel that they shouldn't have to pay taxes to keep these murderers alive in a jail. To a certain extent, these pro-death penalty people may have a point. Their reasons are valid enough. But can we truly believe that by allowing the death penalty to occur is the right thing to do?
The correct answer to this controversial question is: OF COURSE NOT! First of all, it is giving these murderers the easy way out. When we give them death, they die and that's it. They don't truly pay for their crime. People know this, but I consider it safe to assume that there is a deeper issue here. The though of "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth", the human nature that is: the need for vengeance.
What about what America stands...