It’s the time of year when we like to set off – or at least watch – fireworks. The bigger and more colorful and the louder the boom, the better. But beyond the booms and the lights and the oohs and the ahs is the overarching sense of what the Fourth of July is really about: a celebration of the United States of America’s enduring legacy of independence and liberty.
It’s our nation’s 243rd birthday since the drafting of the Declaration of Independence. With this document, our founding fathers announced their intent to throw off the tyrannical chains of Great Britain and its king. The struggle to reach this decision and the lasting effects of war, including the loss of life, property and often family – coupled with years of struggle to find our place in the world – were just some of the burdens endured by our nation’s founders. And yet it was the ideal of liberty – of having laws written by those that shared the same homeland and those elected by the people of that homeland, of having true representation when being taxed, and so many other principles on which our nation was founded – that drove our founding fathers to take this great leap of faith.
People always ask centenarians to share their secrets to their long lives. So, what’s America’s secret? I would say first is the willingness of so many of our citizens to lay down their lives for the cause of liberty. Beyond the American Revolution, we’ve fought in many wars and conflicts to keep our nation free and secure. And, we’ve always had hometown heroes who are willing to make this sacrifice.
Next, is our system of government. Our founders were truly genius – and properly gave credit to our creator – in drafting our Constitution. This allows the people to truly govern themselves using a three-tiered system of government – the executive, the legislative and the judicial – with its checks and balances. We may not ever all agree on the end goal or the method to achieve it, but when we have enough citizens who believe in something, we can meet the will of the majority while protecting the interests of the minority.
I’ve heard it said often that the United States of America is not a perfect country, but it’s the best in the world. I’ll agree with that. Hope you have a great 4th of July!
Remember, you can still reach me during the interim at my Capitol phone number 405-557-7339 or email me at carl.newton@okhouse.gov.
Thank you for allowing me to represent northwest Oklahoma. May God bless you and our great state.
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