I never get tired of posting this:
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,
When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
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.
I will not be going to Fort Lee this year. I’ll be celebrating at Chesterfield County Fairgrounds with Sarah and family. (My big job of the day: Going to Chesterfield Berry Farm, an awesome produce place, and getting the corn.)
I have checked my email for the day, and will be filling out my electronic timesheet as soon as this post is done. For the rest of the day, well, it’s a holiday. I’ll be back after the fireworks. I hope my cobloggers are taking a break as well.
July 4th depresses me more than any other holiday. To read what our founding fathers did and risked to create our Republic is amazing.
That they stood up for their ideals against the greatest military at the time, and WON is an amazing feat that I doubt will EVER be done again.
And what have we done with the freedoms they DIED for?
Pissed them away one by one in the name of “security”, or for “the children”. We’ve voted in the same type of fools over and over, who have passed their time in office creating “feel good laws”, and worrying more about their pensions then about raping the constitution.
Well. Happy 4th anyways. To those serving America this year and all years past I still salute you. Any and all are welcome at my home at any time. To those that gave the ultimate sacrifice, I’m sorry. I can no longer fight the socialists and the idiots. I can only hope that the memory of what you gave your lives for will live on in the future.
You didn’t post the entire Declaration – like the parts that listed WHY the people were so upset and moved to rebel. For instance:
“…He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good… He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them… He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only… He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures… He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers… He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries… He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance… He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power… For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury… For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences…”
It was a real tyranny back then – good thing we’ve come such a long way in the past 200-or-so years!
The link is there so that you can read it for yourself, Joshik.
Long_rifle, I don’t think I’ve ever read quite as pessimistic a comment on July Fourth this side of the Daily Kos.
We are still the freest nation in the world, with the ability to do whatever we can conceive of doing. America is still the land of opportunity, and still the country that people are literally dying to get in. The country that gets criticized freely by its citizens, and yet, they don’t leave to go to other nations they deem more free or better—they’re still here.
Yeah, we’ve got fools in Congress. We’ve had them since there was a Congress, and we will have them as long as there is a Congress. It is obviously human nature to abuse power. But we’ve neutered the abuse of power beyond what most nations do. Just look at Zimbabwe.
I will take America over every other nation in the world. There is nowhere else I’d rather live, and I’ll stay here, warts and all.
Here’s a little quip to brighten the mood Meryl.. I wonder if Obama is planning on celebrating in all 57 states? :)