Happy Fourth

And I hope you take a moment to recall what we are commemorating on this day. It's not the impressive monuments in the capital; it's not marching bands; it's not people in uniforms; and it's certainly not politicians. The day is special because an extraordinary generation linked arms and declared that it was better to die on their feet than to live on their knees. They rebelled against their government and were marked for death as traitors, but they saw it through and kicked the pretentious powers-that-be back across the ocean. It's also worth remembering that the majority of their fellow Americans opposed them and remained loyal to the crown, for sheep always outnumber lions. Indeed, today is not just a commemoration, but also an ongoing lesson captured in Jefferson's famous words:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, 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.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --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, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

Think about these things today, and ask yourself if you are worthy of the legacy handed down to you by the generation that sacrificed so much.