Gary Bauer at PatriotPost
has a message for all of us on this Fourth of July weekend:
Independence Day is one of my
favorite holidays – celebrating patriotism, our history and the tremendous
courage, faith and sacrifices of our Founding Fathers. As the 246th birthday of
America approaches, by all means, enjoy the day! Celebrate America and our
freedoms!
But please take a moment to remind
your children and grandchildren about America’s exceptionalism and the
significance of Independence Day.
Remind them about the sacrifices at
Bunker Hill and Concord Bridge that were necessary to create this nation and
secure our freedoms. Tell them about the courage of George Washington crossing
the Delaware River on Christmas night.
Most importantly, tell them about
America’s “mission statement.” It can be found in the second paragraph of the
Declaration of 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…
Yes, the right to life is a
God-given human right. It is the first right without which all others are
meaningless!
Those were radical ideas in 1776,
and they are still radical concepts in many parts of the world today.
Of course, we have struggled at
times to live up to that standard, but there is a reason millions of people
from all over the world want to come to America – and it’s not because we are a
“systemically racist nation.” We are not!
There is a reason that courageous
Chinese dissidents wave the American flag, and not the Canadian flag or the
Iranian flag or the Swedish flag.
Sadly, in 21st century America it seems
we are struggling with the concept of “truth” and the notion that our rights
come from God, not government. As Ronald Reagan famously warned, freedom is not
guaranteed. Reagan said:
Freedom is never more than one
generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the
bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the
same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our
children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were
free.
That warning has never seemed more
dire than today as radical Marxists are attacking our history and demanding a
“fundamental transformation of America.” Into what exactly?
They are not seeking to create “a
more perfect union.” They are seeking to divide us in order to impose their
will on us. The future of our liberty depends on whether folks like you and me
can muster the courage to overcome this radical impulse to rule or ruin.
. . .
God bless you, my friends, and may
God bless the United States of America!
Read the rest here. And Happy Independence Day.
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