EDITORIAL: Legacy of liberty

In McLeod County we have no parades, fireworks or ceremonies recognizing Independence Day. That’s why it’s important that we write about it here.
   
Our nation’s independence is worth celebrating. If it weren’t for the 56 brave souls who signed the Declaration of Independence 233 years ago, who knows where all of us would be today? Without our nation’s independence occurring during the final quarter of the 18th century, who knows how the course of history might have changed?

Our nation’s independence is a truly remarkable event. The United States of America were the first modern colonies to escape the dominion of their European authority. Not long after, other colonies in the western hemisphere followed. Within 40 years of declaring our sovereignty, most other large Latin American colonies had separated from their motherlands. Haiti was the first to go, breaking off from France in 1804.

But the United States led the way. Our forefathers’ actions helped forge a pioneering spirit that has guided this nation for more than two centuries.

The Declaration of Independence, written mainly by Thomas Jefferson, is a fascinating document. Yet relatively few people at the time of its writing were familiar with it. It wasn’t until after the American Revolution that people began to pay attention to its text, especially what it says about human rights:

“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.”

If you attended Hutchinson High School, New Century Charter School or Maplewood Academy, you probably spent an hour in class studying those words. It would have been better if all of us could devote weeks to learning about these words and the rest of the Declaration of Independence.

Indeed, the very notion of separating from Britain in 1776 was bold.