July 1, 2011
We are about to enter a holiday weekend. We'll be celebrating the Fourth of July, as we commemorate the birth of our nation in 1776. The Declaration of Independence was signed on that date. It told King George of England that the colonies were breaking away from British rule to start their own nation dedicated to freedom and equality.
But what good would that document been without the force to back it up? At the time Britain was the world's super-power…and the king wasn't about that take this lying down.
After a long and bitter war, the citizen soldiers of the Colonial Army, with a little help from the French Navy, defeated that super-power and brought this nation of the people, by the people and for the people—as a later president would put it—into existence. An experiment in democracy to continues to this day.
Had they lost the war, the Declaration of Independence would have been a worthless scrap of paper. All the men who signed it would have been executed by the Crown as traitors. Their lands and fortunes would have been confiscated.
This all brings us back to yet another reason to remember the sacrifices of America's military. We could not have become a country then, and we wouldn't be free now…without them.
This Fourth of July, grill a hot dog, wave the flag, celebrate your freedom…..and salute someone in uniform if you possibly can. They represent a long line of warriors who made our way of life possible and who protect our freedoms.
I'm Jim Cameron with today's Viewpoint. Have a happy and safe 4th of July.
