Remember what the Founding Fathers fought for, and keep fighting back

In 1776, the vast majority of countries in the world were hereditary monarchies and empires under which equal rights and individual liberty were not contemplated.

Two hundred forty-nine years ago, 56 men met in the Pennsylvania State House in Philadelphia to commit treason against the most powerful empire on earth. Representing 13 colonies, these men – a mix of landowners, entrepreneurs, politicians and others – had a new set of ideas. Those convictions led them to start a war no sane person believed they could win.

The Founders’ fight seemed incomprehensible. In launching it, the Second Continental Congress largely tasked one man – Thomas Jefferson – with drafting the document that would articulate their vision for humanity and this new country and reshape history. Jefferson secluded himself from June 11-28 to draft the document. He was 33 years old at the time and drafted one of the most beautiful passages in history: 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.

Read it again. Read it as if you were a poor tenant farmer under the oppressive rule of King George or an enslaved person in Georgia. Read it as if you grew up in a system that assumed you were worth less than your neighbor by virtue of your social station and under which your future was limited by the circumstances of your birth.

The Declaration was, in fact, a “revolutionary” statement articulating the ideological and factual basis for a coup against the empire. It was a revolution against history. It was a revolution against the idea that some men (and women) are worth more than others. It was a revolution for the idea of dignity, human rights and equality before law.

And when Jefferson submitted his document to the Congress, and those 56 men signed it and shipped it off to King George, they ignited a war in the American colonies that would transform the globe from tyranny to liberty.

War they got. Five of the signers were captured, tortured and killed. Nine died from wounds or hardships fighting in the war. All were impacted, raked by violence, their homes and property ravaged, their children thrust into the violence they created. They starved. They lost battles. And then, unexpectedly, they won.

In creating America, those Founding Fathers reshaped history. We now live in a world in which nearly half of countries are democracies. The combination of political freedom, free markets and the technological innovation unleashed by those systems has lifted billions of people out of poverty.

On Independence Day, we celebrate 56 men who risked everything. May we continue to fight back. May we have the conviction to oppose the enemies of liberty and to continue to fight for the promise of the Declaration and America’s spiritual foundation. May we do so out of love – for our neighbors and for the blessings of the Creator. And may we gain courage from the example of those 56 men, their hundreds of thousands of compatriots and the unwinnable war they won.

Respectfully submitted with kudos to original author John Coleman.

Al Phillips 

Prineville

We are grateful for the Grizzly Flat firefighters

A sincere thank you to all of the fire personnel who responded to the Grizzly Flat Fire. I am grateful and thankful for you. You are a blessing for all of us. Stay safe!

Sue Williams