Independence

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 to 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. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security

And so goes the second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence. My challenge to you today is to read it, in full, and give it thought. I consider myself to be patriotic, in a form. In my mind there are two ways to be true to your nation- and both ways are needed for a country to achieve greatness. One path is through questioning, the other through believing. One is not subservient to the other- both must coexist for a nation to have strength.

I have a deep love for our independence. For the laws and systems that allow our country to exist. It is that love that pushes me to constantly challenge those same laws and systems, to ensure that the freedoms that we cherish- that those self-evident truths of equality and liberty- are never allowed to fall by the wayside in favor of greed, or tyranny, or fear.

The 4th is always a holiday of reflection for me as much as it is a holiday of joy. I set aside time each year to do two things- to listen to the Declaration being read aloud on NPR and to read some other favorite historical writing. This year it is "What To The Slave Is The 4th Of July?", a speech that Frederick Douglass made in 1842.

Happy 4th to you and your family.