Happy Independence Day

IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen United States of America:
When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
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.
— That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,...

What an inspirational document - one every American should read and ponder at least annually - yes, reading and discussing even the list of grievences as well. That document, the Declaration of Independence, is in the news today on this, it's 234th birthday.

Some sites of interest:

The Declaration set to song, as published in the LA Times.
An interesting commentary by Stephen Henderson at the Detroit Free Press.
A comparison of the original draft, reported copy, and final copy at the US History.org site.
And, of course, the wonderful primary resources available at the Library of Congress.

Happy birthday to the Declaration of Independence and all that it stands for. May we as a people study it, embrace it, and try to understand it.
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