Self-Evident Truths

Editor’s Note:  This is the first July 4th column I wrote for these newspapers, back in 2021.  It still fits.

“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 were written in 1776, and were signed into effect on July 4th of that year. They are, as you already know, some of the opening words to the document that founded the United States of America – the Declaration of Independence.
Those same words touched off a war with Great Britain, one that most of the world expected the British to win easily. Of course, it didn’t happen that way; the Colonists won, secured their independence, and created over the next couple of centuries a nation that is today the world’s one true superpower.
We made a lot of mistakes along the way. Some of those mistakes have been rectified, though it took decades (and sometimes war) to fix them. Some of those mistakes have not yet been rectified, but I have strong hope that they will be. Some may never be corrected, though I hope we never give up trying to do so.
Throughout the early years of American history, one thing was constant: the rest of the world was watching to see us fall flat on our faces. You see, the United States was a great experiment in self-governing. Most of the other nations in the world in the 18th Century were led by royalty – kings, queens, emperors, people who claimed divine right to rule others.
Our nation was different. Our Founding Fathers believed that the common people were smart enough to select their leaders, and when the time came, to change them out as necessary.
When the Civil War took place, it was watched with intense interest by most nations, and with unfettered glee by others. Those who were happy to see our people battling against each other were all too happy to say, “See? We told you people are not smart enough to govern themselves!”
We proved them wrong once again, and have continued to do so. No matter what your political leanings may be, you have to admit that this nation paved the way for other nations to enact governments that are of, by, and for the people. No one else had ever tried that kind of experiment before.
The Founding Fathers established a republic. I keep hearing things in the press about “democracy,” but the United States has never actually been a democracy. A true democracy cannot exist in such a large country, and those who claim we are one do not really understand what a democracy is.
In a true democracy, we the people would have to vote on everything. In a small society, this is possible, but when you are talking about a nation of more than 300 million people, it’s beyond impossible to have the people vote on everything.
So the Founders created a constitutional republic in which we, the people, select representatives who will do all of that for us.
Note that I said “representatives,” not “rulers.” Though it seems that over the last few decades our government has taken the belief that it rules over us, it does not.
The people rule. The people are the source of the government’s power, and it ill behooves our “leaders” to forget that.
We, the people, put these “leaders” into office.  We, the people, can take them out of office at the next election. It is a sad commentary on society that we do not do so more often.
I am reminded of that wonderful quote from Mark Twain: “Politicians are like diapers.  They need to be changed often, and for the same reason.” One only needs to look at the headlines from the past few decades to see the total wisdom of Mr. Twain’s words.
On this Independence Day, take a moment from the barbecues and beach trips and fireworks to reflect on what we have in this country:
We have a nation that has proven that the so-called “common people” can govern themselves; we do not need “divine” kings or queens or emperors to make our decisions for us. It’s all in those words of Thomas Jefferson:
“… that these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States …”
The freedom to make our own decisions, to make mistakes (and hopefully to correct them and learn from them), to be who and what we wish to be – these are the freedoms Jefferson wrote of, and for which we fought the Revolutionary War.
Happy Fourth of July.  Remember why we have it.