On Independence Day -- July 4

By The Colonel

Far from home, in lonely outposts and stations in some of the dark and deadly places in the world, American Soldiers, Marines, Airmen and Sailors are on watch, guarding your freedom. They stand guard for you and me. Their selfless service is even more poignant today, on the 4th of July, the anniversary of American Independence.

They are standing guard for the concept for under which we you and I live: The idea of Individual Liberty.

Individual Liberty…. This is an idea that is relatively new in the history of mankind and even today is not realized in many places on the planet. Since the dawn of civilization, most men and women have lived under kings, emperors or dictators. Authoritarianism has ruled, while individual liberty has been rare.

It was only 232 years ago on July 4, 1776, that Americans dramatically changed this by declaring independence from Great Britain and founding a Nation based on the moral principle of individual rights. It is only recently, if you consider the long line of human struggles, that a significant portion of the human population has lived with the blessing of individual rights supported by the rule of law.

The Declaration of Independence that our Founding Fathers affirmed on this day is one of the greatest documents ever devised and one that Americans should not take for granted.

But it took more than a declaration to secure the unalienable rights of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." Our ancestors had to fight to win these freedoms. They had to overcome insurmountable odds to establish these rights.

They believed, as Sam Adams so eloquently said: "If ye love wealth greater than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest for freedom, go home and leave us in peace. We seek not your council nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you, and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen."

Today, too many Americans take the struggle for Liberty for granted. In our entertainment drenched society the shrill howls of tyranny seem to be distant and irrelevant.

But as Ronald Reagan once said, "Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction."

Independence Day, therefore, is a time to remember the spirit and soul of the Nation. It is a time to be thankful that our Ancestors had the courage to stand and fight for liberation from the hands of tyranny.

It is also a time to honor those who guard our freedoms today: The men and women of our Armed Forces who guard our Nation and preserve our freedom.

"Thus may the 4th of July, that glorious and ever memorable day, be celebrated through America, by the sons of freedom, from age to age till time shall be no more." Virginia Gazette, July 18, 1777

Have a blessed and safe Independence Day!

The Colonel