The Greatness of Independence, Undermined

As I sit here on a hot, lazy afternoon, I must admit that my mind is not so lazy. I cannot begin to fathom the sheer magnitude of what happened over 200 years ago. The Founding Fathers created a document so revolutionary that it forever altered the history of the world. Thomas Jefferson and his committee penned the phrase "All men are created equal."

As Americans, our rights are not derived from the government or some monarch, as in England. Instead they are derived from God Himself. God gave us these rights, and in turn we created a government that embodies our rights. People who suffer injustice within American society can point back to the Declaration and recount how the rights come from God, not by man. These are inalienable rights! Among these, would be life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness (or property, as John Locke formerly said).

Now these rights that has been given to us by God are slowly being drained away by entitlement mindsets. We need a large government to take care of us now. Healthcare, social security, job programs are all now guaranteed by the document that used to describe personal initiative. What would the Founders do? What would the great thinkers say about the course of our country now? What would they think of Europe, which is now moving away from Socialism towards the Free Market system that made the West grand.

As we celebrate the Exceptional revolution, and the most earth shattering event in the history of the modern world, read over the Declaration. Recount the inalienable rights, and see for yourself that the government is ordained by men to secure our rights and to defend them.

Happy Independence Day!