Two hundred and fifty years ago, a bunch of ungrateful upstarts forming a baby government passed a radical document that was, in its essense, a request for their country to not longer be under the rule of King George III and the British Parliment. There were thirteen established colonies in their country at the time, mostly filled with criminals, religious extremists and people who fled their native lands to come there for other unsavory reasons. I imagine it was a lot like early Australia, minus the kangaroos and crocodiles. You could call them the riff raff and that would be kind.
The radical document contained 27 specific problems these guys had at the time with King George III's specific behaviors in regard to this little nothing of a country; all of them inflicted without the consent of the criminals, extremists and other unsavory folks. It was like a long-distance impeachment. It was their wish for freedom from oppression. It was also for the time completely audacious, highly shocking, and absolutely committed this bunch of malcontents to a war with Great Britain that would last seven years, kill between 25K to 70K of the upstarts, and end with a victory that was even more shocking than their document. Our forefathers, those ingrates, won.
Today is the 250th anniversary of the passage of the Declaration of Independence, which is what we consider America's birthday. We are still the riff raff. Despite some narcissistic idiots' wishes to the contrary, we still have no kings. We will never have kings. We are free and independent presently because those upstarts long ago simply said "Enough." This is what my country means to me. This is why I celebrate July 4th.
For today, I wish you would remember those ingrates, and what they did, and how it turned out. I also wish you Happy Independence Day. :)
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