Happy July 4th to all here!
In the course of celebration, politicians and pundits will repeat the much quoted "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." Yet this is merely an echo of what philosopher John Locke said in the previous century.
What people tend to miss is the most truly revolutionary statement in the Declaration:
"That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it...
That statement shook the foundations of Europe's establishment, and laid down a marker for the people's right to revolution!
As you celebrate the Glorious Fourth, remember that right, and all who have sacrificed to defend it for you.
