In Celebration of Independence Day

July 4, 1776

While the birth of our nation followed several years later with the signing of the Articles of Confederation (1781), and still later the Constitution of the United States (September 17, 1787), the fourth of July is our country's most coveted day - Independence Day. The day we recognize as the signing date of the Declaration of Independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain. With the stroke of the quill, and in John Hancock's case, a flourish, thirteen small colonies declared their separation from the most powerful nation on earth, their former sovereign.

Interestingly, though, it was in fact July 2nd when the Second Continental Congress legally separated from the crown when it approved a resolution of independence. That resolution was brought forth by Richard Henry Lee of Virginia. I lived in Leesburg, Virginia (his namesake) for several years, so I thought I would mention his contribution.

The day after the resolution passed, John Adams wrote a letter to his wife, Abigail, which included this prescient and almost accurate passage,

"The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more."

Think of that statement. These men were about to officially face down the enormous military might of an empire - with a ragtag army, virtually untrained militiamen and scarce resources. It had been just over a year since Congress had appointed George Washington as General and Commander in Chief of the Continental Army (June 15, 1775). And the day before that it had authorized the formation of 10 companies of riflemen from Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia. This was the birthday of the Army and Army Infantry. And now, a year later, on July 3rd, John Adams expresses to his love Abigail, his faith and confidence that they will indeed be victorious - that what was born on July 2nd would live on and prosper. Tell me these men were not extraordinary.

So, this weekend we will, for the 235th time, celebrate this 'most memorable epoch'. Those men pledged their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor to each other and the cause of freedom. They were giants among men. And the seed they planted that day has grown into the greatest, most prosperous nation in the world.

In all the world, over all the time man has walked upright, only 5% of humanity has ever known freedom. And never before had there been a nation that was borne of an idea - of natural rights - and designed from the ground up to protect those rights. To honor the individual. To form a government with the express purpose of insuring the freedom and liberty of its citizens forever.

And now, two hundred and thirty-five years later, we continue to tinker with the gift these men bestowed on us - in the name of progress. Elena Kagan would barely recognize the Declaration of Independence at her confirmation hearings. She didn't recognize the integral nature of the founding document - the explanation of who we are. And now she sits on the highest court of the land. Franklin Delano Roosevelt envisioned a Second Bill of Rights that embodied the antithesis of the American spirit. And last year we crossed a point where the majority of the American people exist, at least partially, on the government dole. We've come a long way, baby.

Next to Washington and Lincoln, my third favorite president is Calvin Coolidge. The last truly anti-progressive president until Ronald Reagan. He was also the last president who wrote all his own speeches. I think he best expressed the legacy we have been given in a speech he delivered on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence:

"About the Declaration there is a finality that is exceedingly restful. It is often asserted that the world has made a great deal of progress since 1776, that we have had new thoughts and new experiences which have given us a great advance over the people of that day, and that we may therefore very well discard their conclusions for something more modern. But that reasoning cannot be applied to this great charter. If all men are created equal, that is final. If they are endowed with inalienable rights, that is final. If governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed, that is final. No advance, no progress can be made beyond these propositions. If anyone wishes to deny their truth or their soundness, the only direction in which he can proceed historically is not forward, but backward toward the time when there was no equality, no rights of the individual, no rule of the people. Those who wish to proceed in that direction can not lay claim to progress. They are reactionary. Their ideas are not more modern, but more ancient, than those of the Revolutionary fathers."

Is Calvin Coolidge your hero now, too? Simple, succinct, to the point - it could almost fit on a tweet, yet speaks volumes.

I hope and pray that as we all enjoy these next few days, at a time when we face a crisis of identity in this country, that we reflect on President Coolidge's sage words and honor the genius of our Founders. Their genius was indeed timeless. We have all been blessed with a divine gift - the freedom to be who we want to be. To live our lives as we see fit.

The Founders pledged and risked all to grant us the freedom we hold. Don't we owe it to them, to ourselves, and to our posterity to preserve that gift 'from this time forward forever more'?

Happy Independence Day!