Let Freedom Ring! (18th Century Dreamers)

June 30, 2002

by Brian W. Peterson

Let freedom ring! My how this Independence Day seems to be more important than at any time since our 1976 celebration.

We hold these truths to be self-evident… That’s right, self-evident. At a time when the world was dominated by monarchies - usually tyrannical governments which imposed their wills upon others, with the power to destroy those who dared to oppose such power - our Founding Fathers found certain ideas self-evident when the powerful refused to accept these ideas at all.

That all men are created equal… They knew that they could not change the ways of people and economies in one generation, but they laid the groundwork for hope. They struggled with a concept that they knew to be true yet could not immediately be enacted. Better to have an imperfect Union than no Union at all, they correctly reasoned.

That they are endowed by their Creator… Yes, their Creator. Not a jellyfish that came onto land out of some primal ooze; not the rocks and trees. The Creator. Study the Revolutionary War and you shall see how a poorly funded, ragtag bunch of fighters defeated the greatest military of the time and you will see the hand of the Creator in our nation’s birth.

With certain unalienable Rights… Rights that cannot morally be taken away from a free man by any other man. Rights, granted by God Himself, defended by our government. This concept alone showed the intent of the Founders. Freedom - not power, not riches, not personal legacies - was their goal. They recognized that there was something bigger than themselves, bigger than their own ideas.

That among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness… What could separate the coming nation from other nations of that time better than recognizing the right to self-determination? Could the Founding Fathers have been bigger dreamers? From theory to practice in such a short time, citizens went from being subjects to being rulers of self. What bigger wonder has there been in the history of government?

That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed… Not the consent of one man or one family; not by a man who thought he was a god; but from the governed. And since when did “just” matter in government? Only power - the power to control, to tax - mattered to governments throughout history.

With these words, the American Revolution separated itself from other historical uprisings. Uprisings often begin with noble intentions but degenerate into reproductions of the original. Not America. The Declaration of Independence was not just of the quaint idea of independence from King George III. The Declaration was a manifest for the future of America - a road map to take us from Today into Tomorrow and eventually from sea to shining sea.

The Constitution was the structure, but the Declaration was the ideal.

Idealistic indeed, the Founding Fathers were dreamers. They were wise, prophetic, and intelligent, but still they were dreamers. They knew that their odds of success were low, but odds were not impediments, just reminders of the harshness of reality. To fail was to not try.

God, Liberty, Equality - pillars of the American founding. Oh yes, the Founders believed in Discipline and Limits, but the Declaration of Independence was simultaneously a declaration with a swagger and a celebration of what was to come. Oh how it came to pass.

From 1775 to the present, millions upon millions have sacrificed their lives so that many millions more could live their lives under a shadow - not of a document, rather of a notion. This notion has guided America and has been replicated, to a degree, by others.

But there is only one America - one Land of the Free and Home of the Brave. Let freedom ring.

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Brian W. Peterson writes a political column for the Antelope Valley Press (circulation approximately 60,000) in Palmdale, California. He is a graduate of Oral Roberts University, where he majored in TV/Film. Brian’s weekly commentary and newspaper columns can be found at www.LifeAndLiberty.com.

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