The Original 4th of July Essay

There is only one 1,337 word essay in history that has been celebrated with a national holiday for the past 234 years. This essay of essays, is our Declaration of Independence.

In practicality, the Declaration firmly announced the American colonies a country of her own, free from British sovereignty, and justified the separation by laying out the injustices inflicted on the Colonies by their former mother country. In doing so, this remarkable document cemented natural law into written word, laying out the intrinsic rights of Man as the foundation of our freedom, and building into our government a respect for individual liberty.

It is unquestionably a brilliant essay, and it was written the way it was written for a reason – and it was not because the Founding Fathers were diehard conservatives in their political or their personal lives. Clearly, some of them were not. But regardless of their own political opinions or personal lifestyle choices, our Founding Fathers recognized that the surest way to protect the liberty of American citizens was to protect each person’s right to any lifestyle or life philosophy.

Accordingly, for 234 years and counting, individuals in this country have been free to choose their own way of life. Liberal philosophy or conservative philosophy, the Declaration of Independence acknowledges the fundamental freedom of every human being to think for themselves and act as they see fit (providing, of course, that they don’t infringe on anybody else’s rights). Because of this freedom, we can conserve our wealth or donate it to the poor. We can educate our children as we see fit or send them to be educated by others. We can practice our religions privately, publicly, or not at all. We can pay for our own healthcare or choose to buy health insurance. We can choose to eat what foods we want, live in what housing we want, drive what kind of vehicle we want, and choose what kind of job we want.

In our extraordinary country, we truly have the best and the freest opportunity of any country in the world to live, choose our decisions, and prosper. The choice is ours. Our Founding Fathers realized the value of this freedom as they declared our independence with a brilliant essay on the 4th of July, 1776.