On this day 237 years ago, 56 men signed a document who, had things gone a touch different, would have been hanged for treason against the crown. These men were willing to pledge to each other their lives, fortunes and sacred honor, in the name of Divine Providence. All for the idea, the belief, that there was a better way. A way forward that prevented the tyranny against the people that they had seen grow so fertile in Europe.
When Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, it was at it's time the largest slap in the face that all monarchs had ever seen. The concept that no man was more important than any other, the concept that the crown was not, by any idea, a person chosen by God to lead was anathema to every belief held at the time. A concept of self reliance and self government of the people, by the people, and for the people would prove to grow into a world superpower while providing more individual freedom than had ever been seen before.
Now we seem to be at a turning point in the ideals that our Founding Fathers fought so hard to promote and instill in our country. Daily we find out about new ways the government is eroding our very basic rights that were bestowed upon us by our Creator, and deem thus inalienable. We are quickly finding out that tyranny is a determined enemy and willing to bid it's time waiting for us to lose our focus.
Constantly we are deprived of liberties and rights in the name of security, or for the greater good. This country was never designed for one man to suffer for another to succeed. Everyone has that equal opportunity to succeed, it is what you do with that opportunity that has made our country great. Our founding principals were never designed for the outcome to be equal, that relied on you and your personal initiative, how hard are you willing to work for it.
And yet a mere 237 years later here we are, consistently being stripped of our rights. Are we willing to admit that we were willing to give up or freedom for the false sense of security? Will Benjamin Franklin prove right? Will we falter and fail at this experiment that had never before seen on Earth and allow it to go into the history books as another failed form of government that will eventually devolve into tyranny? Or will we follow our rights and as the Declaration itself says:
That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of 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.
The ball, as they say, is in our court. We the People, have given the government it's power through our consent. Are we still willing to consent to our government that which it has decided it has the ability and power to inflict upon us?
Or is it time to get excited and prove once again that we will not be subjects, we are THE PEOPLE, and the government answers TO US, not us to them.
While you are enjoying your independence day with explosives, beer, and bar-b-q, remember why we celebrate today and the men who risked everything to provide us with a country that allows any man to prosper, if he so chooses.
Happy Independence Day from The Handbook.
