The Declaration of Independence has always had a special meaning to me. To become an American citizen, I had to give an oath to protect and to defend the Constitution of the United States.

I remember standing inside the courthouse with other new citizens. The late Honorable Robert Williamson addressed us.

He did not talk about democracy or diversity, and he did not tell us about this “new world order.”

Instead, he introduced us to our founding fathers, who built this great nation not only for us, but for the many immigrants still to come. He told us that citizenship comes with great responsibility.

There will be governments, school departments, police departments and, yes, even judges who act as if the Constitution never existed.

Vigilance is the price for liberty.

That was more than 40 years ago. I always wanted to know what my government was doing. I kept my promise. During this troublesome time, shouldn’t we take inventory of our government?

More than ever, we need to protect our liberties and not allow anybody from within to mess with our Constitution.

Ingeborg Lapointe, Augusta