Posted on 07/04/2016 9:15:04 AM PDT by Kaslin
The Fourth of July, for most Americans, is a day filled with the comforts that a youthful summer eagerly supplies in golden hues and generous heat. New flags flash proudly with crisp red and white stripes--beaming stars on a field of blue; an undulating, living object caught and writhing between the playful fingers of summer's capricious breeze. Kids bound outdoors filled with the giggling beams of the sun's boiling disc and tantalized by the sizzling, uniquely American delicacies cooking on dad's carefully stoked charcoal grill. But, all of this summer glee exists because of ancient parchment dry as an autumn oak leaf.
Holidays are a fine thing, so long as we are jarred from our slumber to wake, however briefly, to the glories of a priceless inheritance passed like a baton from one generation to the next. Independence Day usually culminates in spectacular firework shows that harken back to an era when life and limb were fodder to the thundering machinery of mad King George's tyranny. Liberty's dead call us to remember and pass the sacred totem, hollowed by their patriot's blood, a talisman against tyranny, written on 18th century parchment.
The Declaration of Independence is a quick read. Even if you're a slow reader, you should be able to conquer it in 15 minutes. It can be read in its entirety before a hotdog chars on the grill. In fact, the first few paragraphs distill genius and divine revelation to produce a wonder in succinct complexity. The Founding Fathers knew this document would hang over their heads like the Sword of Damocles and would define them for all posterity. So, they chose every word with meticulous care.
Take the time to read it. It is the essence of our body politic and to the degree we are unmoored from this sheltering harbor we are ever in danger of falling prey to the savagery of tyrannical seas. If you don't have a copy, avail yourself of the wonders of Google.
But, if you're really pressed for time, consider this crucial sentence found in the second paragraph of The Declaration of Independence:
“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."
The Declaration is a political treatise as spectacular as any kingly diadem and it's easy to miss the brilliance of a precious gem when it's couched in so much splendor. The linchpin of every liberty is described within the span of four words, "endowed by their Creator." Millennia of philosophizing failed to discover what theologians extrapolated from Divine revelation. For Greek and Roman citizens, their rights existed only to the degree and extent to which the government applied them. In other words, the source of human rights was the state. Greece and Rome created civil rights in the image of man, producing only tyranny for most, and merely the illusion of democracy.
The Bible says, "where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." (2 Corinthians 3:17) And so, true civil rights awaited the day that men turned to the counsel of God to understand themselves in the light of His truth. Being made in the image of God, we are imbued with intrinsic value and rights adhere to us as creations bearing God's image. These rights are "unalienable," meaning we cannot divest ourselves of those rights even by our own volition, just as we cannot completely efface the stamp of God's image on us.
Therefore, the rights that are cited in the Declaration, by way of example, are only properly exercised in the context of their Divine origin. Life can only be lived with purpose and joy insomuch as it is lived in His service. Liberty can only be properly enjoyed as it is bounded by the laws of nature and of nature's God. The pursuit of happiness can only be achieved in pursuit of righteousness--the foundation of real joy. These truths are the essence of the civil society which must exist for a democratic republic to function.
Sadly, the left knows this better than most conservatives. And, this is why the left constantly erodes the pillars of the civil society. Their work is insidious and relentless as they gnaw like termites at the family, church, and education. Life, in their leprous grasp, becomes irrelevant before consuming desire. Liberty is corrupted into license as liberalism extinguishes the guiding light of God's truth. And the pursuit of happiness is transformed into the all consuming abyss of unfettered desire.
There is so much more in our Declaration of Independence. Our celebrations have meaning if we take the time to read the document that is the occasion for the holiday. While the coals burn low, read with thoughtfulness the lines that our forefathers penned with so much care--to which they pledged their lives and wealth. Their legacy is dissipating as the minions of darkness bend the arc of history toward tyranny, cloaking their treachery in Orwellian truth speak and enslaving our posterity in service to a glib equality and reckless liberty.
Happy Independence Day!
(Or as Bill & Hilly call it, “Co-Dependents Day...) :^)
This Independence Day is a solemn one. A lot of madness going on around the country. I just saw Revcom post some vile things about America on this day. What a shame.
My American flags are out today. They are displayed for the brave and wise Patriot Founders who put their lives and sacred honor on the line for freedom. The flags also represent all those who served the nation in honor and dignity and especially those who gave the ultimate to defend the Republic. As for the cretin leftist and traitorous selfish scum in DC and among the nation, past and present, they can all go FT’s and inherit the wind as their just rewards.
“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.”
Good words but the left seems to think that this applies to all, forever. Perhaps that line should be amended or modified to read as follows:
“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. After birth all bets are off due to differences in intelligence and education.”
Wifey and I watched `Independence Day’ last night. We saw it in a theater twenty years ago. Sure, a little hokey but a good flick in these times. Happy 4th!
God bless America
I put ours out today as well and all the bunting
What you mean, is that after birth, if the child is abused, neglected and brainwashed into Marxism/Socialism, where Up is Down, no individuality or Free Will (choice) can exist, mother/father paradigm (Natural Family-Common Sense) is non-existent, two males make a “family” LOL and other irrational, vile, sexist absurdities are repeated over and over in a group-think artificial institution from a very young age, the Natural Family and Real Life virtuous human interactions and biological truth ISN’T embedded.......
....that person will not be capable of “knowing” what is self-evident-—
—because their whole childhood and environment has been completely warped, history erased, traditions erased, biology (Truth) erased, so any common “sense” is impossible. (Snow will be Black and Jeffrey Dahmer is “Good” as is killing babies and sodomizing others).
That is what we face——the literal fascist, Malthusian control over the Minds of our children in a system of mass deceptions, lies, and constant vice promotion, to actually destroy Reason and Logic and Virtue in children, so they are incapable of Wisdom, knowing which SHOULD be “self-evident” which is in non-abused, non-brainwashed children.
Only Classical Christian curricula gives children the “tools” for critical thinking (reason, common sense, individualism—thinking outside the State “box”). Everything else is brainwashing-—programming—destroying critical thinking and Free Will (choice), so “self-evident” can exist.
We have sacrificed our sons and daughters in the name of freedom, not to create an empire. We have liberated billions. We fought in a great war to end slavery. We sent our sons and daughter overseas to defeat dictators and tyrants who tried to enslave Europe, Asia and the Middle East. There are vast cemeteries at home and around the world honoring our known and unknown who have died securing freedom for others.
We turned a grass covered continent into the breadbasket of the world. We feed billions. We fed a city blockaded because they would not submit the scourge of world communism. Impoverished and displaced persons as well as victims of natural disasters are assured that we will be the first to help. We do that without expecting payment in return, not because we are mighty, but because it is the right thing to do.
We have revolutionized the world's standard of living. We have developed things that do the work of millions, allow instantaneous communications and stop diseases that were previously uncurable. We gave ourselves mobility, an affordable automobile, a usable and plentiful fuel and a system of roads that allow all of us to travel across a continent with unrestricted freedom. We are the country that gave the world heavier than air flight, then supersonic flight and then we traveled to the surface of the moon and the planets beyond.
We allow discourse and dissent in discussion. Many things can be said that, while not agreeable to all, can be done without fear. It is not a crime to have a different opinion. We span a continent, yet our borders between states are marked with signs and monuments, not barriers. We have one of very few governments in the world that has an orderly transition in leadership on a regular basis. That leadership is selected by the governed not by those who govern.
We tend to forget these truths because we are constantly bombarded with a litany of what is wrong with our country, not what is right. It is easy to criticize and find flaws but, over time we fix them and we do it as a nation. We enjoy freedom on an unprecidented scale when reflected on the history of humanity. We live in the greatest country the world has ever seen and it is a day to celebrate that.
Happy Independence Day.
It is now the goal of every voting democrat support Hillary Clinton in endin that ideal once and for all.
Well said!
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