July 4th Reflection

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men 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 among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.—That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it; and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.—Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. …

Generations ago, the men we now revere as the founding founders of our Nation lost faith in the system under which each had been born, under which each had been educated, under which each had thrived, and under which they had ultimately been oppressed. At some level, they had to be seriously disillusioned with the hand they had been dealt under a monarchy seeking to maintain control over a distant empire. But they also had a firm grasp of an ideal - notions of natural rights and liberty that is the birthright of every individual. They had to have had a hope and a faith in the potential of such ideals, to propel them through a costly conflict that led to independence.

That hope, that faith, that perseverance gave us the birth of a nation and the ultimate test of civilization - can a people govern themselves, or must they be ruled by others? For 238 years we have been engaged in this noble pursuit, sometimes thriving with the better angels of our nature, other times stumbling as we battle our own corruptibility. We've seen periods of great progress, and we've suffered periods of great regress that we often choose to dismiss or ignore. Prosperity is not the only measure of progress, nor is character the only indicator of regress.

We are in the throes of great political angst, a polarized battle of self-identity, spoils, and systemic institutional decay. We are a nation in crisis, although many would accuse me of exaggeration in saying so. But I believe it to be true, and will stand by this assessment.

A crisis can be faced and surmounted, but there is a cost that will be incurred along the way. We must relearn the fundamentals of our heritage as a free people, and once and for all recognize the aims laid forth in our defining charter. On the 150th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, President Calvin Coolidge said the following words. I'll leave it here for you to ponder, and pray that its truth will take root in you as you celebrate the 4th of July holiday.

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 can not 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 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.