Happy Independence Day!
Holidays should be filled with celebration, and some thought.
Never has it been more important to think about this country, and the ideas it was founded upon.
The Declaration of Independence was not just a letter to tell the British we wanted out, but a mission statement. It defined the principles that we wanted our new country to stand for.
We wanted to be a nation of justice, equality, and opportunity. We wanted a country where the people were protected not only by the government, but from it.
“That all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. ”
No one in the history of mankind had ever written those words down before. This concept didn’t just change America, but the world.
At it’s birth, America was a long way from being a country of equality. In fact, in the first election only four percent of the population was allowed to vote.
The past 243 years have been a constant fight to make America live up to the words on its birth certificate, The Declaration of Independence.
Today we honor not a single person or event, but an idea.
Progress has often been too slow, and at too great of a cost, but must never allow ourselves to go backwards.
Love your country, but always remember that love is a verb.
Verbs require action.