July 4th: a day to remember our foundation
- The Founding
- The Call
- Our Current State
- Where Do We Go From Here?
- Founding Father Quotes
- Poem link
The Founding
July 4, 1776: the Second Continental Congress unanimously adopted the Declaration of Independence, announcing separation from Great Britain.
Thirteen colonies, fifty-six signers. They each declared independence. But why? In the opening statement, the document states that “it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another,” and then it goes on to state the causes. The next line, many are familiar with: “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.” Furthermore, the document states the purpose of government: “That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,”. It goes on to say that if the government, in any form, abuses their power of the consent of the governed and becomes destructive of those Rights given by our Creator then “it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.” The founders and the signers went further to say,
“when a long train of abuses and usurpations [the act of seizing or occupying and enjoying the property of another, without right], pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism [Absolute power; authority unlimited and uncontrolled by men, constitution or laws, and depending alone on the will of the prince], it is
Declaration of Independence (emphasis added)
their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for
their future security.”
I love how they chose each word carefully and deliberately. Their right, and not only this, but it is our duty! In the document download above, you can read their causes for declaring a separation since I will only list the ones I would like to emphasize for our discussion.
The Call
We declared independence because the British government had become tyrannical. We were not being represented correctly in courts, swarms of the military were sent to live in our homes during times of peace, trade was being cut off from others, and so many more! The colonies sent numerous letters to share their situation and the concerns they had. Yet, they were ignored. They declared independence from a corrupt government with bad representation and terrible policies. Is that not what we have now? We are told by our founders that if the government becomes destructive to these ends (our God-given rights) then we are to abolish and return to the foundation.
Our Current State
Where are the men and women with open eyes in our country? Our predicament is on the very same road as it was 247 years ago. Where are the patriots of this day who love honor and freedom? I am not asking for those who place their country above God, for truly that is idolatry. However, I am seeking those who wish to maintain the freedoms they have currently. Our war is not on shores overseas but in the very walls of the city in which we live. The elite of this world is trying to demolish our freedoms and our rights. Who will stop them? Our hope does not lie in placing trust in a politician who promises all we hope for – words are cheap in our society. Instead, our hope lies in our Creator, Jesus Christ. Our country needs to bow the knee. We have disruption and dissension in the streets because we do not serve the Lord. America is just like Israel. We were given a land of promise but we went after other gods.
Where Do We Go From Here?
The founders were God-fearing men. Even if they didn’t all go to the same building on Sunday, they held a common belief in God. The main writer of the Declaration of Independence was Thomas Jefferson. From touring his house last year, I realized the sad state of our country. His memory has been marred and he is no longer honored for being the author of a once-treasured document. It was the same for Madison, the writer of the Constitution. If Jefferson is ridiculed for his life choices, and Madison as well, why are we surprised when those who wish to keep freedom dear are shown as bigots? This is not to say that every “so-called patriot” is true to their heart and honorable to the country. However, it is to prove a point. Those who wish to maintain the good, the beautiful, and the true will be persecuted. The question is not “Should we do it?” but rather “Is it worth the cost?”. That is where true bravery lies. Standing in the face of opposition and knowing that standing firm on your ground will cost you, but it is worth every last drop of sweat, tears, and blood. If it isn’t, does that mean the efforts of all those who have gone before us to maintain our republic and rights have been spent in vain? I leave you with their words… don’t leave until you read them, please!
Give me Liberty or give me death!
Patrick Henry (https://www.colonialwilliamsburg.org/learn/deep-dives/give-me-liberty-or-give-me-death/)
“Posterity! you will never know how much it cost the present generation to preserve your freedom! I hope you will make a good use of it.”
John Adams, Letters of John Adams, Addressed to His Wife
“Nothing is more certain than that a general profligacy and corruption of manners make a people ripe for destruction. A good form of government may hold the rotten materials together for some time, but beyond a certain pitch, even the best constitution will be ineffectual, and slavery must ensue. On the other hand, when the manners of a nation are pure, when true religion and internal principles maintain their vigour, the attempts of the most powerful enemies to oppress them are commonly baffled and disappointed. . . .
[H]e is the best friend to American liberty, who is most sincere and active in promoting true and undefiled religion, and who sets himself with the greatest firmness to bear down profanity and immorality of every kind. Whoever is an avowed enemy to God, I scruple not to call him an enemy to his country. Do not suppose, my brethren, that I mean to recommend a furious and angry zeal for the circumstantials of religion, or the contentions of one sect with another about their peculiar distinctions. I do not wish you to oppose any body’s religion, but every body’s wickedness. Perhaps there are few surer marks of the reality of religion, than when a man feels himself more joined in spirit to a true holy person of a different denomination, than to an irregular liver of his own. It is therefore your duty in this important and critical season to exert yourselves, every one in his proper sphere, to stem the tide of prevailing vice, to promote the knowledge of God, the reverence of his name and worship, and obedience to his laws. . . .
Many from a real or pretended fear of the imputation of hypocrisy, banish from their conversation and carriage every appearance of respect and submission to the living God. What a weakness and meanness of spirit does it discover, for a man to be ashamed in the presence of his fellow sinners, to profess that reverence to almighty God which he inwardly feels: The truth is, he makes himself truly liable to the accusation which he means to avoid. It is as genuine and perhaps a more culpable hypocrisy to appear to have less religion than you really have, than to appear to have more. . . .
There is a scripture precept delivered in very singular terms, to which I beg your attention; “Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thy heart, but shalt in any wise rebuke him, and not suffer sin upon him.” How prone are many to represent reproof as flowing from ill nature and surliness of temper? The spirit of God, on the contrary, considers it as the effect of inward hatred, or want of genuine love, to forbear reproof, when it is necessary or may be useful. I am sensible there may in some cases be a restraint from prudence, agreeably to that caution of our Saviour, “Cast not your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rent you.” Of this every man must judge as well as he can for himself; but certainly, either by open reproof, or expressive silence, or speedy departure from such society, we ought to guard against being partakers of other men’s sins.”
Reverend John Witherspoon
“Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”
John Adams
“We must, indeed, all hang together or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately.
Benjamin Franklin, at the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
Rooted in Him 
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