Happy Independence Day; let's build a nation worthy of our Founding Fathers

This Independence Day, our great nation doesn't have the luster that it did when the Revolutionary Army defeated the British. When that final battle was won, we started a nation built on governing principles that had never been tried before. 248 years later, we're still the preeminent nation in the world.

A reading of the Declaration of Independence instructs us as to what the Founding Fathers' highest priorities were. The start of the second paragraph famously states "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. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed." This was unlike the British form of government in that the U.S. form of government required We The People to give our consent to being governed and that it's our God-given right to pursue Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

That requires "the people" to be in charge. That means that our rights come from God, not the British throne. That alone must've been quite the slap in the Throne's face.

This Independence Day, let's live like we live in the greatest nation in the history of history. We're blessed with a plethora of natural resources. Most importantly, we're a giving people. When we see a neighbor who needs help, we help, usually without even thinking about it. That's because IT'S PART OF OUR NATIONAL DNA. What an incredible gift to be given!

Each year in my Independence Day article, I include this recital of Red Skelton's Pledge of Allegiance because it's so beautifully explained:

We've been blessed each year. Sometimes, we've been blessed by adversity. It's said that's blessing because "it's in the valleys that we grow." Other years, we're blessed by family, friends and loved ones. Whenever we're blessed, though, let's take time to be grateful for those blessings.

Grateful nations continually get blessed. Isn't that the type of nation you want to live in? It's certainly the type of nation I want to live in. At the end of the Declaration of Independence are the words that've made this nation great: And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.

Let's make that pledge today and May God Bless America!