How is the declaration's idea about why governments are formed still important to our country today?

According to the Declaration of Independence, governments are formed in order to protect the "natural rights" of the people (in the D of I these were listed as "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness"). This is still important to citizens of the United States today because the goal of a government should STILL be to protect those rights--not to enrich its members, or to gain international power, or to promote mercantile enterprises.