July 4th is the day we celebrate American Independence.
There are other dates we might choose. The April 19th, 1775 is when the first shots were fired of what was to become the American revolution. Cornwallis surrendered to Washington on October 17, 1781, effectively ending the military conflict. The Treaty of Paris was signed September 3, 1783, signifying British recognition of our independence. We could also celebrate Dutch or French recognition of our independent status.
So, why July 4th, 1776?
It's because it's when we decided we were free. The rest is details.
Being the Fourth, this is a great time to review some of the text, and see what is has to teach us.
When, in the Course of human Events, it becomes necessary for one People to dissolve the Political Bands which have connected them with another, and to assume, among the Powers of the Earth, the separate and equal Station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent Respect to the Opinions of Mankind requires that they should declare the Causes which impel them to the Separation.
There is strength here, and humility. One of the problems I see is that our current George doesn't take the idea of respect for the opinions of mankind seriously, but in taking great actions the opinions of mankind have great weight. Their opinions may influence the success or failure of your venture - without the French, Dutch, and even Spanish assistance, the war would never have been a success; without the good opinion of mankind we would have seen the immigration that we have seen since that has benefited the country so much, without the reputation we have built for being fallible but generally seeking to do the right thing we would not have been able to grow to the place in the world we now enjoy.
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.
Much has been made of the failures of the early American state to live up to these words. Slavery is an obvious and extreme contradiction, as is the fact that voting was mostly restricted to property owning white men. In looking at history, we have to acknowledge these failures (prominent in the man who wrote the words, sadly.) Women are not even mentioned. But these are also the words that, more than almost any other, point the way. Over the course of two hundred and thirty years we have been gradually moving towards making these rights not merely principals, but reality for a growing portion of the population.
We still have questions, and work to do if we want to achieve this goal. We have religious extremists that wish to make their religious rules into our legal code, we have a President who reads "all men" and seems to add "except whoever I declare a terrorist."
If we wish to make changes, we have to remember the next phrase:
That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed
That's why we have governments, that's the only reason we have them. Not for crusades, not for ensuring that the wealthy and powerful stay wealthy and powerful, but to ensure that the basic rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are secured.
that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these Ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or 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.
Prudence indeed, will dictate, that Governments long established, should not be changed for light and transient Causes; and accordingly all Experience hath shewn, that Mankind are more disposed to suffer, while Evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the Forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long Train of Abuses and Usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object, evinces a Design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their Right, it is their Duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future Security.
Right now, we have a government that doesn't seem to follow the highest ideals. It is our right, it is our duty, to throw it off. We are lucky - the form of government the founders put in place is strong enough to survive the attempts to upend it by right wing extremists, but to do so requires action from all of us.
The next section deals with various offenses committed by King George the Third. A small selection:
For imposing taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us, in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:
The first one - if you are under 18, you are being heavily taxed right now even if you have no income. Your future work will be paying the taxes of todays wealthy for a long, long time.
The second two apply far too perfectly to our present legal situation. The prisoners we have at Guantanimo Bay, or in Iraq, or in secret prisons in Eastern Europe have no rights to trial by Jury, or a real trial of any kind. Some of these folks are bad people, to be sure, but others were not picked up 'off a battlefield', they were picked up on thin evidence at best, a neighbor with a grudge, a tipster looking for a reward. They have been taken beyond the seas, to be tried for pretend offenses.
Today, I urge you to go and read the Declaration, its worth a read before you go and enjoy the fireworks. (If you have some thoughts, please post them below.)
It's important for us to remember that the ideals of the American Revolution live on, but not in the people that use fake patriotism as a cudgel and our troops as a shield. Rather, it lies in those for whom 9/11 is a problem to be addressed, not an opportunity for political gain, a mantra to be recited any time anyone disagrees with them.
True patriotism lies with those who appeal to Americans courage, not their cowardice.
We can take our country back. It will take effort, it will take sacrifice. But, let us take one last look at the Declaration we celebrate today:
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.