Happy Independence Day!

It’s definitely worth reflecting on why today matters.

If you’re fifty years old, you’ve been alive for exactly 20% of America’s existence. Hard to believe, right?

A lot has changed in that slice of time.

Two hundred fifty years ago, on July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was unanimously adopted by the Second Continental Congress at the Pennsylvania State House in Philadelphia – later renamed Independence Hall.

It was a treasonous document. It listed 27 specific abuses and injuries committed by King George III, and it went on to poo-poo the concept of hereditary monarchy. Those who signed it were risking their life by doing so.

The Declaration also explained why the thirteen colonies regarded themselves as independent, sovereign States no longer subject to the colonial rule of the British crown.

But the Declaration was more than all this. It established a brand new, bold new idea: a social contract where government derives its power from the consent of the governed. Its preamble is among the most famous statements in American history:

"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."

This digs much deeper than what they taught us in school. The Declaration was not just about “No taxation without representation.” In fact, that famous slogan wasn’t even accurate. It would be better said as “No legislation without representation.”

The Declaration boldly asserts that governments ought to be created to protect individuals’ God-given, natural rights and that just governmental powers ought to be derived from the consent of the governed. It argues that if any government becomes destructive of these basic rights, the people have the right and duty to alter or abolish it and create a new one.

How do you think the original signers of the Declaration of Independence would view what’s happening today? Would they be proud of how we’ve carried on since 1776? Or would they sadly shake their heads and wonder how we lost our way?

Maybe it’s time to think about a new Declaration of Independence . . .

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