Think about all the different people who live in your community. Everyone is different. Everyone wants different things and believes different things. Everyone has his or her own opinions. But despite these differences, there are ideas and hopes that everyone in a community shares. We all want to be happy. We all want to be able to make decisions for ourselves. We all want to be able to work toward our goals. Some of us may struggle sometimes. When we are worried about ourselves and those we love, some of us may forget that other people have rights too and that their rights are just as important as our own rights. Some of us, too, may have dreams that are so big that we all have to work together to achieve them.

For thousands of years, people have lived together in communities. People have learned that by working together they can protect one another from dangers, help one another overcome hardships, and inspire one another to accomplish great things. These three ideas—of working together, sharing burdens, and respecting each other’s rights—are why people form governments.