The Real Meaning of the 4th of July is Revolution

Two hundred and thirty-three years ago, fifty six of our forefathers signed their names to the Declaration of Independence. They brought forth a new nation conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

They started a war. My ancestor, Francis Lightfoot Lee was one of those men. They started the revolution that birthed this nation.

Now we are engaged at a crossroads of history, testing whether the leaders of this nation so conceived and dedicated, still hold those same truths and ideals to be self-evident.

Iranian citizens have taken to the streets of their cities in the pursuit of freedom and liberty. They sought, and deserved, their own revolution. The Iranian government murdered and persecuted them for it. Our government voted present.

Manuel Zelaya attempted to trample the Honduran Constitution and follow in the footsteps of his communist brother: Hugo Chavez. In the face of such tyranny, the Honduran people rose up in a revolution of their own and sent their King George packing. Within hours, the same US government that dared not meddle in the affairs of the Iranians, sponsored a United Nations Resolution condemning the Honduran people for resisting the spread of communism.

We will meet in the next few days to drink beer, eat hotdogs and enjoy multitudes of pyrotechnic displays reminiscent of the rockets red glare and the attack on Fort McHenry.

Let us also take a moment to remember Neda and all those who are suffering in the quest for freedom. The Honduran Congress had the might of its military to deal with a would be dictator. Would the situation in Iran be different today if her citizens were armed as we Americans are under the Second Amendment? Would the Iranian Basij Militiaman who murdered Neda have ridden so confidently into that crowd if he knew that he faced a citizenry able to defend itself?

I have the freedom today to write this article because on April 19, 1775 a handful of armed farmers and merchants stood and held their ground against the greatest super power on the planet. When the Minutemen stood at Concord’s North Bridge and fired the shot heard around the world, they forever changed the course of history.

That moment brought the audacity of hope to the people of Honduras and it should be cherished by Americans. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this on this 4th of July weekend.

But in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate this weekend, we cannot hallow our history if we don’t remember the true meaning of our country’s birth: Revolution. Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

The Saul Alinskys and the William Ayers of the world will mourn the loss of Manuel Zelaya and all that he represents, but those of us that are proud of our American heritage will pass on the Dreams of Our Fathers to our children this weekend and every day to come for the rest of our lives. We here highly resolve that all of those who have given their lives for the preservation of freedom shall not have died in vain, that this nation, under God, shall continue on in freedom, and that the government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the Earth.