Today's date, July 4, 2025, comes exactly 249 years after the date that our Declaration of Independence was signed. Next year (God willing that there will be one) is going to be the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution. Our celebration, today, is the celebration of the system of government that the American people established, so many years ago. The essence of the Declaration (and the essence of the system of government based upon it) is found in the following statement:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all [persons] 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 [...], deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.
To repeat what has just been quoted, we have now believed, for almost 250 years, that governments derive their "just powers" from the "consent of the governed." In case it hasn't crossed your mind, this statement is totally inconsistent with any idea that our elected president could ever properly make a claim that, "I, alone, can fix it."
The purpose of our government, as stated in the Declaration, is to secure three fundamental rights to all persons subject to the government (which, in case it hasn't crossed your mind, includes those persons subject to our government but who may not actually be citizens themselves). The rights which our government is directed to "secure" are the following: (1) The right to Life; (2) The right to Liberty; and (3) The right to the pursuit of Happiness.
Those commitments are what we are celebrating today. They are, in fact, "rights," not just words. They are rights for "everyone" (not just citizens).
Let's not forget it!
Foundation of Freedom
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