On July 4th, many of us will enjoy the company of our families, some
good barbecue, fantastic fireworks and a few cold beverages of our
choosing. As we celebrate the 237th anniversary of our declared
independence from Britain, and our valiant fight against government
tyranny, we should take a moment or two to really appreciate the gift of
freedom we enjoy every day. Thanks to millions of brave men and women
who've pledged their lives, fortunes and their sacred honor, both on the
battlefield and off, we've been able to build a nation based on
liberty, and preserve that nation for nearly a quarter of a millennium.
We owe our thanks to everyone who has ever served in our military, and
everyone whose ever stood in defense of freedom. But we also owe them
and ourselves and our posterity, a few moments of reflection on what
exactly our independence means.
Our founders believed, as I do and many of you do, that our right to
freedom comes from God, and that it is a right guarantied to all men
which government cannot rescind (unless you're a criminal and even then
you're guarantied due process). Even those who do not believe in God
cannot take our freedom from us, for if not God, then nature has given
us freedom, and if not nature, then human existence itself. There is no
way around it, human beings should be free, and no king nor legislature
should have the power to say otherwise.
We are to be free, cradle to grave, regardless of skin color, age, wealth or social status.
We are to be free, to choose for ourselves what makes us happy, and to choose to seek that happiness.
We are to be free, to choose a spouse, to raise a family, to earn an
education, to earn a living, and to spend the fruits of our labor as we
see fit.
We are to be free, to worship the God of our choosing, or none at all if we so decide, without persecution or discrimination.
We are to be free, to own property, accumulate capital, create a
business and to produce a good or service, free from the burden of over-regulation and over-taxation.
We are to be free, to live each day free from government intervention
in our families, our churches, our wallets and our dreams.
Men and women have fought and died for this freedom. We have been
entrusted with the greatest test of the endurance of liberty ever
recorded, and we are charged with ensuring its success. Freedom is not
free, nor easy, nor 100% fair at all times, but it's damn sure better
than the alternative. It is not just the duty of our military to
safeguard our freedom. We too must watch over her in constant vigilance.
For as difficult as it is to maintain the freedom we hold so dear, it
can be taken away quickly and quietly if we do not look carefully for
those who aim to steal it from us.
We have a difficult enough time with outside enemies who wish us
wiped from the earth. Preserving freedom is made much tougher by the so
called "leaders" we have in our states, in Congress, in the Supreme
Court, and in the White House, who continue to steal more of our freedom
each day, in the name of fairness, because they believe they know
better than any of us how we should live our lives. Advocating for
certain values is one thing, but legislation of each minute of our daily
lives is quite another. For more than a century, we've allowed
government to creep ever so gently into our lives. Now each day they
inflate their role in our lives, they redefine our unalienable rights
and they determine our needs, wants and aspirations for us. They believe
they are smarter, and better equipped to make our decisions than we
are. If we continue to acquiesce to their ruling of our lives, we will
lose the freedom we've worked so hard for once and for all. We cannot
let this happen. We have a duty to ourselves, to our forefathers, and to
the great grandchildren of our great grandchildren to ensure that
freedom and America outlast this era of corruption, elitism and
progressivism, and come out stronger on the other side. The great
American freedom endeavor must not end in failure. We must succeed. We
must show the world that we were meant to enjoy life, liberty and the
pursuit of that which we decide will make us happy.
Ronald Reagan called America the shining city on a hill, an example
for all the world to learn from. I still believe in that city. But I
believe America's role on earth runs deeper than this. We are more than
an example, we are the rock upon which liberty for earth has been built.
A nation with a government like America's, a government of the people,
by the people and for the people, has never been tried before. We are
the foundation upon which the city of freedom depends to endure. That is
how important we are. If America fails, freedom will be lost, and it
may never be rebuilt again to such a degree. We can't afford that
possibility. Freedom is life, without it we are nothing, and so we
cannot afford to let the hill crumble beneath America.
Independence day is a time to enjoy the freedom we've earned and kept
alive all of these years. It's a time to lay back, relax and enjoy the
show. But it's also a time to stop for a few minutes and really let it
sink in just how vital to freedom and the world that America is, has
been, and must continue to be. As you chat with your father, sink your
teeth into those spare ribs, throw back a cold one or a cocktail, and
watch the bombs burst in the air, remember who we are, where we've been
and what we mean to the endurance of freedom on earth. Remember the
perilous fight for liberty. Remember the broad stripes and bright stars
gallantly streaming in the dawn's early light. Freedom can't be left to
the politicians, the judges and the pundits. If the great American
experiment is to succeed, you and I must be the stewards of liberty.
Think about it for a bit, and be sure enjoy your freedom.
Have a safe, fun and free independence day.
God bless the greatest collection of individuals ever assembled as one nation: the United States of America
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