Today is the day that we celebrate the signing (not actually on this day) of the Declaration of Independence which would not have been possible without Thomas Paine’s influence. A day that is special in the hearts of Americans….but why?

I am sure I can get all kinds of responses to that question….but let’s take a short look at what transpired….

By the 1760s, colonists began to push back against what they saw as unfair British control and taxation. The colonies were not directly represented in Parliament, leading to protests with the slogan, “no taxation without representation.” After the British Parliament placed new tariffs on a variety of imported goods, tensions erupted in violence. During the Boston Massacre of 1770, British soldiers shot into a crowd of a few hundred angry colonists, killing five.

In 1773, Boston colonists dumped an entire shipment of taxed tea into the harbor. Parliament responded to the Boston Tea Party by passing the Intolerable Acts. These acts punished Massachusetts by taking away the colony’s charter and limiting its self-governance.

Great Britain had hoped this would discourage any more protests or rebellions. It did the opposite. The Congress published a list of the colonies’ grievances and called for a boycott of British goods. It also petitioned the king, who rejected the colonies’ demands. The Congress also petitioned the king, who rejected its demands.

As the Revolutionary War began, the Second Continental Congress met in 1775 and discussed breaking away from British rule. In 1776, Congressional delegates drafted and passed the Declaration of Independence.

This Declaration expressed several of the new nation’s principles and values, including:

• Natural rights — people are born with certain rights that should not be violated
• Popular sovereignty — a government gets its power from the people it governs
• Social contract — people agree to give up power to their governments in exchange for protection of their freedoms
• Rule of law — the laws of the land apply to everyone, and no one is above them

Far too many Americans have lost sight of what this country set out to do and unfortunately it appears as if the great experiment is failing.

Sadly that historical snapshot is losing ground….the four main points are slowly being eaten away by bickering and partisan politics.

The government, including all three branches is destroying the very things that help give America its freedom from Mother England.

Will the original ideas ever return to the nation and its people?

This will probably be my only post today for Sue and I want to spend the day doing whatever we like.

Please if you are celebrating this day be very careful and always….Be Well and Be Safe….

Happy 4th my friends.

Until tomorrow when I will return with more stuff.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”