Editorial: We are free!

You could say that Independence Day is always an in-your-face holiday. There are parades. There are picnics. People drape bunting, wave flags and shoot off fireworks.

That’s what John Adams had in mind when he wrote about the budding nation’s birth date to his wife, Abigail: “It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more.”

We celebrate our freedom as well as mark the colonists’ determination to end British rule.

The men who signed the Declaration of Independence envisioned a future in which a nation built on new and powerful principles could be a light for the world. They dared — with their lives — to wave their beliefs in King George’s face.

The American experiment continues, with ups and downs, with give and take, as the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government help keep us in balance.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled last week on two key issues in the still young 21st century: immigration policy and health insurance. Neither ruling threatens to topple our government, although some extremists on both sides of the aisle have talked doom and gloom for months.

Neither issue is resolved, either.

That’s the beauty of our system. We can argue, debate, pass laws, see the courts tweak them according to the U.S. Constitution, Bill of Rights and case law, and then craft new laws again.

We would do well to remember those brave signers of the Declaration of Independence as we declare before the world again this Independence Day that we are free. Our celebration, indeed our very existence, may offend you, but we make no apologies for the conviction we have the best government in the world.

Tags: opinion, editorials