Saturday, July 04, 2009

Happy 233rd to the Declaration

On July 4, 1776 a radical new document gave birth to "a new nation conceived in Liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal" (to borrow some famous words).


This great experiment is now 233 years old, and from my perspective, its successes have far outweighed its failures. Yet there are those who despise and are ashamed of that history. Do not count me among them.


To borrow more words from our 16th president, we are now "testing whether that nation, or any nation, so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure."


Count me concerned about whether or not we can long endure, given the current state of affairs in this nation.


For further thoughts along these lines, check out Independence Day 2008 and 2007.

The full text of the Declaration of Independence can be found here.

1 comment:

Bonnie said...

The 4th of July is maybe the holiday that makes me the most homesick. I can do Thanksgiving and Christmas and many other holidays here but to try and celebrate the 4th of July outside of the USA (or a Navy Base!!) is darn near impossible. Maybe it is 'possible' but it's a depressing possibility. It's just not the same ...