Independence Day Special — How America Can Win Again

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.

Those words, from the preamble of the Declaration of Independence, which the Continental Congress formally announced 248 years ago tomorrow, were written by men of courage. The founding fathers knew if they were to establish a government of their own, a system where the people had the power, it would take a fight. Not just any fight, a battle against the most powerful monarchy in the world. In which losing, not only meant death, it meant being labeled a traitor for the remainder of history.

Did the founders create a perfect system? Of course not. Not every person was equal, or free, or counted as a full person. Brother fought against brother 90 years later to help right those wrongs. Yet, through it all, we’ve marched forward as a country, always willing to be self-critical, and using the guiding principles our founding fathers laid out, tweaking where necessary, to create the freest, most spectacular nation the world has seen.