Pink High Heels - Interpreting the Declaration, Part II

Did you read Part I yet?  This is Part II in a two-part series discussing the Declaration of Independence.  

"That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed"

Here, Jefferson was justifying the colonies' break from Great Britain.  Since the main purpose of this series of posts is to discuss commonalities and differences between political philosophies, I wonder if this part of the Declaration is relevant to our discussion.  It is clear that our Government gets its power from the consent of the governed.  How does this play out in our current political system?  Some rambling on that point:

• We vote for our representative in Congress.  They make the laws.  We give them permission to govern us with legislation;
• We vote for the President of the United States; he enforces the laws; we give him permission and power to enforce the law;  
• We do not give the President permission to govern us by legislating, but this particular thread of discussion belongs in the discussion of the Constitution (stay tuned for that);
  

"That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government."

• I cannot see how this line would apply today.  "These ends" refers us back to the purpose of the government: to secure our life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness.  I believe there are many politicians that are, indeed, "destructive to these ends"--that is there are many elected officials who do not secure our rights.  Examples:
• Life:  Abortion rights?  This does not secure the right to life for millions of unborn children.  
• Liberty:  Censorship, employed in the name of "separation of Church and State" (which is a phrase not found in the Constitution), violates the liberty of many people - usually Christians, incidentally.  
• Pursuit of happiness: Federal regulations that do not let business owners discriminate in their services clearly prevent a pursuit of happiness.  Why can I not open a business and only serve people females wearing pink high heels?  How can the government dictate that I serve everyone?
• But, although I believe that certain people are "destructive to these ends", I do not believe our "Form of Government" is "destructive to these ends".   Sure, I'd vote "yeah" on a bunch of impeachments tomorrow; but I would not support an overthrow of our Constitution.  Now, if a group of elected officials hi-jack the government, ignore the Constitution, and begin to destroy our rights, perhaps there is greater reason for a restorative revolution.  Have we reached that point?  No.  Are we dangerously close to that point?  Maybe.  Are we heading in that direction and in need of a major shift in political practice?  Definitely.   

That's all for the Declaration of Independence.  I think the remainder of the text (including today's text) overlaps enough with ideas found in the Constitution, that I can safely move on to that document.