Today we celebrate our independence. This is not just a day to remember the escape from British tyranny, but to remember what our independence truly means. We now live in an era of Wars. The War on Terror. The War on Drugs. The War on the Middle Class. Hell, the amount of Wars on Something are becoming ridiculous. Our Nation is a proud one, governed by the people, for the people, and this is the very essence of our government. Long ago members from the original 13 colonies, members of the Second Continental Congress, declared that "all men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain Inalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness". This was to be the birth of our great nation, the birth of America.
This day, this everlasting day, is a day of reflection, of admiration, of celebration, and of pride. The world that we live in is vastly different than the one our forefathers saw, yet it would seem that very little has changed. There is still tyranny, still people who believe that people can be controlled by force, some of these ideals are even here. We celebrate our freedom every July 4th, yet we do not truly understand how our free land came to be. I urge you to take a moment to think about more than fireworks and hotdogs today. To take just a little bit of your time and really reflect on our nation's past and decide where you want our future to be.
I leave you with perhaps the most important part of "The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America". Atleast, it is my favorite portion...
We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.
Signed,
New Hampshire: Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Matthew Thornton
Massachusetts: Samuel Adams, John Adams, John Hancock, Robert Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry
Rhode Island: Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery
Connecticut: Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott
New York: William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris
New Jersey: Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark
Pennsylvania: Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross
Delaware: George Read, Caesar Rodney, Thomas McKean
Maryland: Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll of Carrollton
Virginia: George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton
North Carolina: William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn
South Carolina: Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton
Georgia: Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton
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