Bayard & Holmes

~ Piper Bayard

Independent:  Not subject to another’s authority or jurisdiction; autonomous. (Dictionary.com)

 

Signing of the Declaration of Independence Engraved vignette of John Trumbull's painting Bureau of Engraving and Printing, public domain

Signing of the Declaration of Independence
Engraved vignette of John Trumbull’s painting
Bureau of Engraving and Printing, public domain

 

Independence Day, July 4th, is the anniversary of the day when Americans declared that we would no longer depend on England for our governance and order, and, therefore, we would no longer be subject to her jurisdiction. We would be autonomous.

One important step in our autonomy was accepting responsibility for our own survival.

To do that, we stopped purchasing English products. Everything from farm implements to textiles to tea. We became self-sufficient, or, in other words, responsible for ourselves and our own needs. It wasn’t easy, but our founders believed that freedom was worth some sacrifice, and sacrifice, by its very definition, is not easy.

This responsibility and sacrifice is still key to all who are free, from the animal in the wild that learns to hunt for itself or die, to the children in our homes struggling to break away from the time-honored, “As long as you live under my roof, you’ll follow my rules.” That’s because there is no true freedom without a corresponding responsibility.

When America declared its independence from England, it took responsibility for its own governance and its own survival on the world map. Below is a reading of our Declaration of Independence, which includes our reasons for “growing up” as an autonomous country and accepting responsibility for our future — reasons worth remembering so that we don’t find ourselves on the other side of a history repeated.

 

 

“It is the right of the people to alter or abolish it and to institute new government.” In other words, our government and our freedom are what we take the responsibility to create.

Happy Independence Day!