What We Celebrate On The Fourth
America was not perfect in 1776. It is not perfect now. But perfection is not the metric of freedom—liberty is.
Armstrong Williams | The Epoch Times
There are many who will gather this July Fourth under the guise of celebration—barbecues, fireworks, flag-waving. But how many understand, truly understand, what they are celebrating?
In an era where grievance has replaced gratitude, the Fourth of July has become a hollow ritual for some.
Billion Photos/Shutterstock
The danger is not just in forgetting our history, but also in rewriting it through the narrow lens of modern discontent.
Let us be clear: America was not perfect in 1776. It is not perfect now. But perfection is not the metric of freedom—liberty is.
And in declaring independence, those flawed men charted a course toward a society where individuals, not monarchs or mobs, hold the reins of destiny.
There is much hand-wringing today over America’s Founding Fathers—slaveholders, landowners, men of contradiction. But history does not offer saints; it offers context. And in the context of their age, the radical notion that government should derive its power from the consent of the governed was earth-shattering. That principle—not the imperfections of the men who penned it—is what we celebrate on the Fourth of July.
The alternatives offered by critics of America’s founding are, frankly, unconvincing. Replace merit with quotas, liberty with bureaucracy, individual responsibility with collective guilt, and you get a society that stagnates, not flourishes. What is too often lost in modern discourse is that the freedoms we take for granted—freedom of speech, freedom of worship, due process, equal protection—are still rare commodities in much of the world.
I’ve spent my life examining the consequences of ideas. And few ideas have been as consequential—or beneficial—as the belief that man is born free and that government exists to secure, not bestow, those freedoms.
America, despite its sins, has done more to lift the condition of man than any other nation in history.
It is fashionable in elite circles to mock patriotism, to decry the flag as a symbol of oppression rather than emancipation. But tell that to the millions who fled tyranny to reach our shores. Tell that to the Vietnamese boat people, the Cuban refugees, the Soviet dissidents. They risked everything—not to criticize America, but to join it.
We must not let spoiled intellectuals and political opportunists redefine America as irredeemable. That is not just dishonest; it is dangerous. If we teach our children to hate the foundations of their country, do not be surprised when they tear the whole edifice down, brick by brick.
The Fourth of July is not about a flawless past; it is about the promise of the future. It is a recommitment to the ideals of ordered liberty, limited government, and the dignity of the individual. We are not celebrating men; we are celebrating principles.
Liberty is not inherited automatically. It must be understood, defended, and passed down. And that begins by refusing to let this holiday become another victim of ideological vandalism.
So this Independence Day, I ask a simple question: Are we a people still worthy of freedom? If the answer is yes, then act like it. Know your history. Teach it. Defend it. And above all, live like liberty means something, because without vigilance, even the freest nation can forget why it exists.
***
Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times or The Liberty Beacon.
***
Header featured image (edited) credit: Org. post content. Emphasis added by (TLB)
••••
••••
Stay tuned…
••••
The Liberty Beacon Project is now expanding at a near exponential rate, and for this we are grateful and excited! But we must also be practical. For 7 years we have not asked for any donations, and have built this project with our own funds as we grew. We are now experiencing ever increasing growing pains due to the large number of websites and projects we represent. So we have just installed donation buttons on our websites and ask that you consider this when you visit them. Nothing is too small. We thank you for all your support and your considerations … (TLB)
••••
Comment Policy: As a privately owned web site, we reserve the right to remove comments that contain spam, advertising, vulgarity, threats of violence, racism, or personal/abusive attacks on other users. This also applies to trolling, the use of more than one alias, or just intentional mischief. Enforcement of this policy is at the discretion of this websites administrators. Repeat offenders may be blocked or permanently banned without prior warning.
••••
Disclaimer: TLB websites contain copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available to our readers under the provisions of “fair use” in an effort to advance a better understanding of political, health, economic and social issues. The material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving it for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material for purposes other than “fair use” you must request permission from the copyright owner.
••••
Disclaimer: The information and opinions shared are for informational purposes only including, but not limited to, text, graphics, images and other material are not intended as medical advice or instruction. Nothing mentioned is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
Leave a Reply