Jul 04 We Hold These Truths To Be Self-Evident

Perhaps because Independence Day is my birthday, I've always been inspired by the founding principles upon which this great nation is built upon. Of the founding documents, the Declaration of Independence necessarily plays an indispensible role in declaring what the United States of America held most dear. For that reason, this paragraph is especially powerful to me:

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.

Hubert Humphrey frequently reminded people during his Independence Day speeches that our's is the only nation in human history that declares happiness as a national goal. Hubert Humphrey's statement is as fitting today as it was when he said it. As important as that is, it's more important that we know why that's an inalienable right.

Throughout history, the model of governance was top-down. It's as if nations said that God gives authority to the government, which then loans parcels of it to the people. Our Founding Fathers rejected that theory. It wasn't just that they disagreed with this or that part of the European theory. It's that they saw nothing worthwhile about it.

Their belief was that liberty was the most important quality to be strived for. They believed this because they knew that oppressed people couldn't be happy for anything more than a fleeting interval of time.

The only proof I need for believing that liberty was the most important thing to these men was the final paragraph of the Declaration:

We, therefore, the Representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

This wasn't a pledge from one peasant to another. Many of the men who signed the Declaration were men of stature and wealth. They knew that if they were captured, they likely would be dead a short while later. Despite that possibility, they pledged their their lives to creating a new nation founded on the principle that liberty was worth giving their lives for.

Put another way, longterm liberty for our nation was infinitely more important to our Founding Fathers than was their fortunes or even life itself. They counted it as privilege to pledge their sacred honor for this goal.

Though it's important to remember the lessons of the past, it's equally important that we live out those lessons in the present. If we believe that liberty is a principle worth fighting for, then we must ask whether it's something that we passionately believe in. The test of that is whether liberty is worth fighting for or if it's just a quaint notion. If we believe that the pursuit of happiness is the right goal for this nation and its people, what are we doing to fight against the things that stand in the way of that pursuit?

A few object lessons are in order.

When five justices ruled (in Kelo v. New London) that private property rights were transient and conditional, didn't that inhibit this nation's pursuit of happiness?

When our government said that it was taking control of the car manufacturers, didn't it say that they objected to the concept of us giving power, in limited amounts for limited periods of time, to the government?

When all of governments say that they'll give us something as long as we'll do what they tell us to do, isn't that a way of buying off our liberty?

The answer to all three questions is a resounding yes.

During the past quarter century, new countries have learned about, and embraced, liberty. In 1989, the Berlin Wall fell. In 2004, the Orange Revolution in Ukraine was one of the first things I blogged about. A little more than a month after the election do over had ousted Viktor Yanukovych, Putin's hand-picked successor to Leonid Kuchma, Iraqis went to the polls despite threats from terrorists. That, in turn, ignited the Cedar Revolution in Lebanon. That's without talking about the liberation of Afghanistan.

The liberty we hold dear is attempting to break out across the world. Only time will tell if it's successful.

If ever there was a time when we need to return to this nation's founding principles, it's now. In fact, it's important that we remain vigilant and steadfast in standing for these important principles. It's important because we need to protect our freedoms just as we need to teach future generations that freedom is never more than a generation away from disappearing.

The best birthday present I could get this year would be the rekindling of passion for the foundational principles of Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. In fact, if we return to passionately defending these principles, it would be the gift we give to future generations.

What an awesome gift that would be to give and to receive.

Comments welcome at LFR.