The Fourth

So, what are we commemorating on the Fourth of July?

We are paying tribute to our nation's founders who famously wrote that the thirteen English colonies in America were forming an independent country based on a few non-traditional principles.

In particular we commemorate their founding our nation on two convictions that they considered self-evident:

1.  All human beings are created equal, and

2.  All human beings are endowed by their creator (who or whatever that may be) with certain rights that they cannot give away or have taken from them,

including three rights that are mentioned in particular:

the right to live, able to gain all that living requires: shelter, security, food and water, access to health care,

the right to freedom, able to do what one chooses,

and the right to pursue activities, achievements, and assets that serve one's interests.

Ours was the first nation founded on these principles.  That's worth celebrating.