Created Equal

To secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.

Declaration of Independence.

I read - as much as I could weather - an article that said people in the United States are dismayed, in record numbers, about our country. The author based this conclusion on an opinion poll claiming American pride is low because we are not "proud of our government."

Whhhaaaattt?

America isn't the government. Government is a necessary structure. It is the three hundred-plus million of us who go about the business each day of pursuing happiness in the forms which we ourselves define.

Today, we celebrate independence. In a very real way, it is the independence to decide for ourselves what makes us happy, and to pursue it with enthusiasm. The Founders did not establish an independent government so we could be proud of it. It was established to allow us to pursue our own lives in peace.

Happy 4th.