Happy Independence Day
Remember why our founders did what they did
247 years ago today, the united colonies of North America declared their independence from the British Crown. In writing the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson and his colleagues began with first principles, establishing that human beings were endowed by God with inalienable rights, and that they had a duty to establish governments who would protect those rights. From there he systematically laid out how King George and his Parliament had violated those rights, concluding that the colonies were therefore free of his rule and were now independent states who could take their place amongst the powers of the earth.
The War for Independence was not fought over tax rates, rather it began with the colonists asserting their natural rights as Englishmen. Britain had a long history of men asserting their rights against a tyrannical king going all the way back to Magna Carta in 1215. The American colonists were not creating something new, as the French would go on to do in 1789, rather they were returning to very old truths.
Keep all this in mind as you look at the state of our nation today. Do we have a government that, as Jefferson imagined, protects our rights? Or is it actively infringing upon our rights? Are we at liberty to raise our families as we see fit, or are we micromanaged by an army of bureaucrats with the power to destroy us on a whim? Are we truly free in 2023?
Thomas Jefferson died on this day in 1826, exactly 50 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence. He died having passed the torch of liberty to a new generation. Today that torch is in our hands. We are not necessarily called to take up arms against a tyrannical government, rather we must use the tools we have at hand. Get informed. Get involved. Don’t abandon the field of battle to our left-wing foes who hate us, hate our country, and hate everything it stands for.
Happy Independence Day from Gem State Substack. The fight for liberty is now in your hands.
Brian, Thanks for the reminder of what we must stand for and what we must not.
Here are some great things we can all read or re-read for additional inspiration:
1. Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/4/4
2. Declaration of Independence: https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript
3. U.S. Constitution: https://ballotpedia.org/United_States_Constitution
4. Bill of Rights: https://ballotpedia.org/Bill_of_Rights,_United_States_Constitution
5. Remaining Amendments: https://ballotpedia.org/United_States_Constitution (scroll down the page)
6. “A Republic if You Can Keep It” Quote attributed to Ben Franklin: https://constitutioncenter.org/education/classroom-resource-library/classroom/perspectives-on-the-constitution-a-republic-if-you-can-keep-it
I remember a story I was told as a child long long ago about a certain TREE that world be fed/watered with the blood of tyrants and patriots. It’s been sooooo long ago, please help me out if you remember it. (Its now the FUSA)