Independence Day: Celebrate Independence and Freedom and Be Inspired to Defend Them

As American celebrates its Independence Day, we Americans should celebrate the freedoms and representative republican government we enjoy and be grateful to those who have defended and are currently defending our independence and liberty in every way. The Continental Congress of thirteen of the British colonies in America approved a resolution on July 2, 1776 of independence from the United Kingdom. The Declaration of Independence, which holds that all men are equal and endowed with the rights to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness, was approved on July 4, which is the day that has come to be annually celebrated. This year, there are multiple threats to independence, equality, liberty and representative government. International Threats: Aggression: Independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity are under threat by the Russian Federation aggression against Ukraine. The expansion of Russia’s 2014 invasion of the former Soviet Republic is the latest attempt by Russian tyrant Vladimir Putin, an ex-Soviet intelligence officer, to re-establish the Soviet Union. Independence is based on the principal of self-determination, a to which threat anywhere is a threat everywhere. Americans should appreciate that foreigners helped America win its War of Independence and oppose aggression. Foreign Interference in Elections: Russia is among the hostile foreign States that continue to interfere in American elections. As foreigners influence the choice of American leaders, this influence decreases U.S. independence. Domestic Threats: Threats from the Left: Misinterpreting the Constitution: Liberals believe in interpreting the constitution or laws differently from what was intended and approved through the representative process, which would make the law personal instead of universal, and thus subject to the whim of the courts, thereby undermining individual liberty. Courts would thus be unaccountable legislatures usurping elected legislatures, instead of tribunals to interpret the intent of the law. Undermining Representative Government: There is especially on the left a trend toward democracy, as opposed to representative government. Democracy is the direct rule of the people, instead of through a legislature of elected representatives, which, on a large-scale is impractical and leads to a lack of deliberation. It thus risks populism, demagoguery, and the violation of the liberty of any minority of citizens or residents. Threats from the Far Right: Undermining Confidence in Elections: While Trumpists continue to deny, minimize or accept interference in elections by hostile foreign states, particularly the Russian Federation’s sweeping and systematic overt and covert support of Donald Trump in both the Republican primaries and the General Elections of 2016 and 2020, at the same time Trumpists undermine the public’s confidence in elections based on false conspiracy theories, which encourages threats to election officials. These false beliefs distract from the focus on real examples of election fraud, including foreign interference. Authoritarianism: There has been a growing acceptance by Trumpists of authoritarianism that undermines the independence of the judiciary, the rule of law, the separation powers, etc. Nationalism: Among the various beliefs of Nationalists are that freedoms and rights are only for citizens or that the United States of America was not based on universal ideas, but on certain cultures or religions. Neither the U.S., nor any of the several States, are “nations (people related by birth),” but free representative republics with diverse populations. The American Creed, as expressed in the Declaration of Independence, states that it is self-evident that liberty is the birthright of every human being, not only of citizens, as all are equal. The Founding Fathers believed America should be a place of refuge for those fleeing tyranny and an example to other States to follow. America benefits from refugees’ greater appreciation of freedom. Threats from both Left and Far Right: Hostility to State Sovereignty: The Thirteen Original States declared their independence in 1776, later joining a Union under the Constitution, in which they created a new sovereign entity, the United States of America for certain matters, but retained much of their domestic sovereignty, as the States remain both independent and in union. The Left generally opposes State sovereignty on domestic matters while the Far Right particularly seeks to force States to abide only by federal border policies, thus abandoning the longstanding state sovereignty over this matter and state domestic interests. The centralization of power, instead of the diffusion of power between sovereigns, risks tyranny. Violence: Public discourse and voting are appropriate and effective means in a free representative republic, not violence, which is unnecessary and unacceptable. I have posted about several of these threats and intend to expound on others. I call upon my fellow Americans to reflect on the American Revolution and to renew their spirit of independence, equality and liberty. While we Americans are right to celebrate what we have retained of the legacy of the Founders for 246 years, we ought to be inspired to defend what is under assault. May God Bless America.