Independent on Independence Day or do you think you are

Yep - That's Me I Think

Our Independence Day celebration is a uniquely American holiday.  And America is a unique nation, the only nation on earth whose First Principle is individual liberty.  We are self-sovereigns; 310 million kings and queens whose authority over our own lives is established by Declaration. 

So what about you – are you independent?

It is a legitimate question; one that you should ponder while the fireworks light up the night in praise of the America where freedom reigns and government serves.  That America is under attack from within; it is our duty to restore it to its full glory.  If you are not independent, then what will you celebrate this Fourth of July?  Why will you celebrate this Fourth of July?  

Are you one of the kings and queens, or have you chosen to be a minion?  Please take a moment to think about your own independence on this Independence Day and make the Declaration of Independence personal.    

“We hold these Truths to be self-evident,”  Do you?  Do you believe in immutable truth – truth proved conclusively by its declaration and not subject to faddish interpretation?  

“That all Men are created equal…”  Do you believe that?  Do you believe that laws should apply to every single person equally?  That a majority opinion does not trump an individual right?  That preference and prejudice have no place in law?

“Endowed by their Creator with unalienable Rights…”  Do you understand where your rights come from?  Do you acknowledge that your rights pre-exist the formation of government?  That rights neither increase nor decrease by government decree, or by majority vote?

“That among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.”  Who owns you?  Do you own the fruits of your labors, the ideas of your mind, the charity of your soul?  Who is responsible for your well-being, and who is accountable for the consequences of your decisions?  Is my happiness your obligation?  Is yours mine?

“That to secure these Rights, governments are instituted among Men…”  Is this your first and only demand of government?  Do you expect more?  Do you oppose government actions that deny rights to one in order to grant favors to another?  Do you believe in a government strictly limited by the authorities granted to it by our Constitution?

Thomas Jefferson defined a new Nation in just 41 words; it is the greatest literary achievement in history.  Say them out loud; these are the beliefs that make us Americans.  We are not geography; we are that noble idea.

Our American notion of self-sovereignty is based on mutual respect, and you can not give what you do not have.  Sovereigns must first respect our own liberty before we can respect each others’.

I ask again: are you independent?

You were not put on this earth to pull another man’s plow.  You are a child of God, just like me; a brother and sister of equal standing, equally endowed with the gift of Free Will.  It is yours to accept, and it is no one’s to give or withhold.

You are free to speak, to worship, to associate, to defend, to testify, to publish, to own, and to trade as you see fit.  You do not have to justify your choices to me or to a government formed to protect your right to make them.  That’s what independence is.  It is glorious.

Conversely, you have no right to be insulated from the consequences of your choices; to force me to pay for your mistakes; or to indulge your unaffordable excess at my expense.  That is also what independence is.  It, too, is glorious.  The most unhappy people I know are those who expect someone else to make them happy.  

We can each measure our freedom by the extent to which we respect the freedom of others; and we can each measure our tyranny by the extent to which we would take another’s freedoms away.  And we can each measure our independence by the extent that we stand up to tyranny when it presents itself. 

So what about you – are you independent? 

Have a happy Independence Day – and remember what we are celebrating.