America’s Informed Consent
The Top 10 Lessons Every American Should Learn from the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution
By Jeffrey I. Barke, MD
Before I perform a medical procedure, prescribe a medication, or recommend surgery, my patient deserves something fundamental:
Informed consent.
They deserve to understand the risks, the benefits, the alternatives, and the consequences before making a decision.
The same principle applies to citizenship.
Far too many Americans have opinions about our government without ever reading the two documents that gave birth to it—the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
Imagine consenting to heart surgery without reading the consent form.
Now imagine allowing your freedoms to be altered without understanding the documents that created them.
Our Founders believed liberty required an informed citizenry.
Perhaps it’s time we became informed once again.
1. Our Rights Come from God—Not Government
The Declaration of Independence begins with one of the most revolutionary ideas ever written:
“All men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights...”
Notice where our rights originate.
Not from Congress.
Not from the President.
Not from the Supreme Court.
Not from a political party.
Our rights come from our Creator.
Government’s purpose is not to grant rights but to protect the rights we already possess.
2. Government Exists Only by the Consent of the Governed
The Declaration continues:
“Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”
Government serves the people.
The people do not exist to serve government.
Power flows upward from citizens—not downward from politicians.
That idea remains as radical today as it was in 1776.
3. When Government Becomes Destructive, the People Have the Right to Change It
The Founders also wrote:
“Whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it...”
This was never a call for chaos.
It was a reminder that government remains accountable to the people.
In America, elected officials are temporary stewards—not permanent rulers.
4. The Declaration Recognizes Divine Providence
The Declaration contains four distinct references to God:
• “The Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God”
• “Their Creator”
• “The Supreme Judge of the World”
• “Divine Providence”
Whether one is religious or not, the Founders clearly believed there existed a moral authority higher than government itself.
Government was never intended to replace God.
5. The Constitution Was Written to Limit Government
The Constitution does not tell citizens what they may do.
It tells government what it may do.
That distinction matters.
The Constitution is not a grant of unlimited authority—it is a document of carefully limited powers.
Whenever government exceeds those powers, liberty begins to erode.
6. Separation of Powers Protects Freedom
The Constitution divides authority among three branches:
• Legislative
• Executive
• Judicial
Each branch checks the others.
No single person or institution was intended to accumulate unlimited power.
The Founders understood human nature.
They knew concentrated power eventually becomes abused.
Their answer was checks and balances.
7. The Tenth Amendment Protects the States—and the People
One of the most overlooked protections in the Constitution is the Tenth Amendment:
“The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution...are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”
This simple sentence reminds us that the federal government possesses only those powers specifically delegated to it.
Everything else remains with the states—or with individual citizens.
Federalism was designed to prevent centralized control and preserve local self-government.
8. Freedom Requires Responsibility
The Founders never believed liberty could survive without virtue.
John Adams famously observed that our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people.
Freedom without personal responsibility eventually leads to demands for more government control.
Self-government begins with self-discipline.
9. The Constitution Protects Individuals from Government
The first ten amendments—the Bill of Rights—do not grant freedoms.
They protect freedoms.
Freedom of speech.
Freedom of religion.
Freedom of the press.
The right to keep and bear arms.
Protection against unreasonable searches.
Due process.
These are limitations placed upon government—not privileges granted by it.
10. Liberty Survives Only If Each Generation Defends It
The Constitution cannot defend itself.
Neither can the Declaration.
Every generation must understand these documents before it can preserve them.
As President Ronald Reagan warned:
“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.”
Our Founders gave us an extraordinary inheritance.
Whether we pass it to our children depends entirely upon whether we first understand it ourselves.
The Bottom Line
As physicians, we insist on informed consent because informed decisions lead to better outcomes.
As citizens, we should demand the same standard.
Read the Declaration.
Read the Constitution.
Study them.
Discuss them with your children and grandchildren.
Know what they actually say—not merely what others claim they say.
An informed patient makes better medical decisions.
An informed citizen helps preserve liberty.
Both are essential for a healthy future.
References
• The Declaration of Independence (1776)
• The United States Constitution (1787)
• The Bill of Rights (1791)
• The Tenth Amendment (1791)
• Federalist Papers No. 47, 51, and 78
• George Washington’s Farewell Address
• Ronald Reagan, First Inaugural Address (1981)
If this message resonates with you, share it with someone you love—because helping them understand the foundations of liberty may be one of the greatest gifts you can give, and it welcomes them into a community built on truth, personal responsibility, and freedom.
About the Author
Jeffrey I. Barke, MD
America’s Real Doctor
Board Certified Primary Care Physician practicing holistic and integrative medicine
Author of Morning Message
Co-author of Unavoidably Unsafe: Childhood Vaccines Reconsidered (with Edward Geehr, MD)
Co-author of Unavoidably Unsafe For Adults (with Edward Geehr, MD)
Author of Mastering Your Health: What They Didn’t Teach Me in Medical School (Coming Soon)
🎙️ Be sure to listen to my Informed Dissent podcast on both Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Website: RxForLiberty.com
Instagram: @Rxforliberty
X: @Rx_forliberty
Facebook: JeffreyBarkeMD
In God We Trust, In Faith We Heal!
There is no true informed consent. For every demonic bill of laws that passes through the halls of government, no citizen is given informed consent as to what these laws will do to their freedoms and lives. That is the horror of having a government...never of the people or by the people or for the people. That lie is exhausted.
#8 Freedom Requires Responsibility - so true - and not said often enough.
Thank you Dr Barke!!!