INDEPENDENCE FOR ONE AND ALL
By Bob Confer 

Ask anybody about the meaning of Independence Day and the purpose of this week’s festivities and the typical answer will be something along the lines of, “July Fourth celebrates when we became a nation.”  

That’s a brief but noble and relatively accurate answer. But, nonetheless, it is not fully accurate. The abundance and brevity of this response, probably based on what the majority of the Declaration of Independence expounds upon, leads one to believe that the only purpose of this document was to clarify the states’ exit from Great Britain’s kingdom. The narrowness of the common response fails to address a very key issue: Not only was collective independence determined but so was that of the individual.

The Declaration began with a powerful insight into what constitutes humanity and freedom, indicating that the governance of mankind should come not from overbearing tyrannical powers but rather from the Laws of Nature. Natural laws, as our founding fathers so simply yet so effectively stated, declare, “all men are created equal…they are endowed by the Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

Those key words, further codified in founding and supportive documents over the dozen subsequent years, are what separated - and continue to separate - our nation from all others on this world. Up until that time no nation had ever been founded on true personal freedom and liberty, let alone a participative government. Prior forms of national, regional or tribal identities relied on almost dictatorial rule that worked from the top down rather than the bottom up and featured stark and deliberate divisions in class, either defining peoples’ roles in their society or putting reins on their ability to pursue life in any way they saw fit. 

The collective independence of a separate nation and the new style of self-rule so different from past governments that we gained from the Declaration of Independence are important. But, it can be said without a doubt that the singular independence of each and every one of us that came from our nation’s Genesis is much more important. It’s this personal freedom that makes America unique and it’s this personal freedom that makes YOU unique.

Consider yourself blessed to be an American citizen, for our nation is truly amazing, a land where each and every person is afforded the chance to be his or her self. We are granted the ability to be who we want to be. We are given the freedom to pursue our dreams. We are empowered with personal responsibility and the struggles, joy, and rewards that come with it. Our lives are what we want to make of them and it is best said, in the spirit of the holiday, that we are granted independence. You are who you are and can be who you can be because of the American Way.

The greatness of this independence for all and one is something that should not be overlooked in this week’s celebrations. Only here in the United States of America can you truly be free to aspire and achieve, so, as you celebrate our national independence take some time to celebrate your independence and everything that has come from it.

Relish life’s journey and savor the results. Our founding fathers would have it no other way.