July 4th, or Independence Day, means different things to different people. In my mind it stands for two different but related things… our country’s split from England nearly 250 years ago as stated in our Declaration of Independence and for the creation of our personal freedoms as established in the Constitution of the United States of America.
It always interests and amazes me that a few guys got together all those many years ago and not only had the gumption to tell England to “stick it” but they were able to hammer out a governmental structure that was flexible enough to grow and change with the times and also able to survive all those changes over the years.
But, on a selfish note, I am always thrilled to see our personal freedoms protected and even expanded. Sadly, over the past 20 or 30 years, we have seen very little in the way of expansion of personal freedoms. More and more we see special interest groups with a loud voice push our personal freedoms into a corner and compress them to the point of taking them away.
Don’t get me wrong… I truly believe in the preamble of the Declaration of Independence which says, “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.” And, while it might not have been on the original framers’ minds at the time, I truly believe that God intended this to include men AND women of ANY color.
Now, there is no doubt we still have a ways to go to reach the lofty goal of including everyone in these freedoms in an equal way. We have to remember government is provided by men and women who are all far from perfect. If God were doing it, He would, of course, get it right the first time. Sadly, we likely still have many years to go before getting it anywhere near perfect.
Having said that, our country, this great experiment, has been a shining example to the world for over 200 years. Yes, you can complain and find fault with how things are done. Goodness knows I do. But any time you want to complain… maybe tear down some part of our country… just run this thought through your head… “Where would I rather live?” Any time I’m unhappy with how the government is operating… and sadly that is a lot of the time… I stop and think… “Where could Twila and I move where we would be happier?” The answer is always… “NOWHERE!”
So, yes, it is your right under the laws of our country to complain. It is your right to protest those things with which you do not agree. It is your right… perhaps even your obligation, to try to peacefully and lawfully change the things with which you do not agree. But, in the end, please always realize that we are all in this together and there is no better place to live than in the United States of America. God bless the USA!
