Celebrate Pride In Your Country

Seems like we should have at least a month to celebrate Pride In Your Country.  And we should take pride in our country.  On the Fourth of July, Independence Day, I like to remind people about the stirring words of the Declaration of Independence, and the courage of those who signed that document on behalf of an emerging nation of free souls.  These words are still the clarion call for freedom and still inspire those living in countries ruled by totalitarian dictators and thugs.  And here is the nub, the central core of the Declaration of Indpendence, the statement of fundamental human rights:

“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.”

Note the premise–we are all created equal, not guaranteed equal outcomes, and we all have certain inherent rights which cannot be taken away.  The people in the jurisdiction of any government have the right to establish and control that government, and when that government isn’t meeting its obligation to secure the lives, liberty and quality of life of the governed populace, that populace has the right to change the government.

This is a statement of government philosophy that has not been and cannot be surpassed–it recognizes the primacy of the individual and of individuals collectively.  Compare it to the explicit or implicit forms of government extant in the world elsewhere–dictatorships and tyrannies that believe that an individual or group of persons has the right to determine the rules and control the lives of everyone under their jurisdiction.  China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Venezuela, many countries in Africa and Asia have this as their government philosophy.  We fortunately don’t–yet, but there are many totalitarians among us, in the guise of the pro(re)gressive movement, which believes not in freedom, but in dictating every thing you must think, say and do.

Our country is not perfect, none is.  Slavery and the treatment of African-Americans is a major stain, but we have constantly striven to identify error and correct it.  Today the danger is not that we treat some people poorly, but that some seek to control us all via a bizarre ideology which has been repeatedly shown to be destructive of life, liberty and happiness.  We are still the country to which tens of millions seek to come, legally and illegally.  We are the beacon for a better life.  So you may justifiably take pride in the United States and you must be diligent in defending those principles which have made the United States the exemplar for the rest of humanity.