image credit: The History Place
Scott
Powell at the American Thinker blog reminds us:
July 4th, also known as Independence Day, is a
much more lighthearted and festive American holiday -- with cookouts, parades,
beach and boating parties and fireworks -- than other patriotic holidays such
Memorial Day or Veterans Day. Most people forget that when the 56 members of
the Continental Congress signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776, they
were in fact signing their death warrants. At the time, Great Britain was the
most powerful nation on earth, while the thirteen American colonies were poor
and disunited. The British Crown deemed the issuance of a declaration of
independence an act of treason, which meant that all signatories would be
punishable by death.
. . .
As it turns out, the
Declaration of Independence, which we celebrate on July 4th, is not just what
gave political birth to the United States, with its unique emphasis on limited
government and the freedom for its citizens. It was these simple ideas put into
practice that also enabled the nation’s ascendance from colonial poverty to
global superpower in a little more than 200 years.
However, during the
last 50 years, America has increasingly been on a course of surrender and
retreat from the principles that made her the envy of the world for
generations. May this July 4th be a special time, perhaps a turning point,
in renewing those ideas and convictions that brought the Founders
together, which embodied a certainty that the rights of the people come from
God, and not the state. It’s not about being reactionary or turning the clock
back, but rather it’s about aligning our thinking and action with the inclusive
ideas, principles, courage, and faith that enabled prior generations of
Americans to overcome, advance and prosper more than any other people in human
history.
Read the rest here.
# # #
