We Hold These Truths…

Josh Farris

July 3, 2020

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To start, I want to share where my heart is in writing these posts. Over the last decade, it seems as though our national “pulse” has grown more angry, divided, and hopeless. Turning on ratings-based news programs or spending time on social media only reinforces this feeling. Personal face-to-face conversations, however, have had the exact opposite effect on me. I’ve experienced that, when in a normal conversation, differing opinions are expressed more respectfully, and both parties tend to give one another the benefit of the doubt. I’ve really enjoyed these talks, and I always feel more informed and hopeful when they’re through. By writing these posts, I’m trying to take those lessons and apply them to current issues and—hopefully—share that hope with y’all.

So let’s talk about Independence Day.

Independence Day celebrates, by definition, the signing of the Declaration of Independence. We call it America’s birthday and celebrate our freedom from Great Britain, but the Declaration is why we celebrate on July 4^th. Sure, the success of the Revolutionary War and our secession from Britain is worthy of celebration all on its own, but celebrating the Declaration is so much more. This was the culmination of centuries of philosophical thought, used by the Founding Fathers in one document to justify their rebellion against the Crown.

Here are the most radical thoughts posed by this one letter, all of which are now synonymous with the American experiment: all men are created equal; we are by the very nature of our Creation endowed with the unalienable rights of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness; governments only operate to secure these rights; finally, governments only operate by the consent of the governed.

These truths were the combination of dozens of philosophers’ writings and the Founders’ own observations, and they shaped the formation of the American government and Constitution. The independence mentioned in the Declaration isn’t solely the Colonies’ independence from Britain; it’s also each person’s independence from the tyranny of an unjust government. I truly believe that these foundational American thoughts are not only true, but they’re also good.

What isn’t good, however, is our country’s repeated history of selectively applying these truths to maintain the status quo. The very same oppression that our Founding Fathers fought to end was accepted, and even encouraged, within our own shores; supporters of this oppression even used the Constitution to justify their perspective (see: states’ rights, rights to ‘property’, etc.).

These systems (slavery, withholding the right to vote to women and minorities, Manifest Destiny, the list goes on…) very clearly flew right in the face of the principles laid out in the Declaration. Not all men—or women—were treated as equals; the government did not secure every man’s right to liberty; the government’s operation was not under the consent of every person it governed.

Throughout the worst of these times, however, the Declaration was still there, providing a reference of hope for the oppressed. On July 5^th, 1852, Frederick Douglass gave one of the most incredible speeches in American history. Douglass, an escaped slave, passionately outlined how it was impossible for him to celebrate Independence Day while millions of his brothers and sisters were still in chains. “Your high independence,” he argued, “only reveals the immeasurable distance between us.”

Even with the clear hypocrisy in the American system at the time, Douglass had this to say about the Declaration of Independence and its writers: “The signers of the Declaration of Independence were brave men. They were great men too — great enough to give fame to a great age . . .  I cannot contemplate their great deeds with less than admiration. They were statesmen, patriots and heroes, and for the good they did, and the principles they contended for, I will unite with you to honor their memory.” America’s lack of institutional regard to those principles was the problem, not the principles themselves.

Abraham Lincoln found the Declaration to be the highest guide of American political behavior. In 1858, while running for the U.S. Senate, he implored his countrymen to “come back to the truths that are in the Declaration of Independence. You may do anything with me you choose, if you will but heed these sacred principles.” Years later, his Emancipation Proclamation pulled directly from those “sacred principles,” finally beginning the path towards reconciliation between our country’s ideals and her practices.

On July 4^th, 1914, Woodrow Wilson addressed the disparity between our philosophy and our actions during the height of the women’s suffrage movement. “Liberty does not consist, my fellow-citizens, in mere general declarations of the rights of man. It consists in the translation of those declarations into definite action.”

On July 4^th, 1965, Martin Luther King Jr. expressed his admiration for the “great dream” of the Declaration. “Never before in the history of the world has a sociopolitical document expressed in such profound, eloquent and unequivocal language the dignity and the worth of human personality. The American dream reminds us—and we should think about it anew on this Independence Day—that every man is an heir of the legacy of dignity and worth.”

America has come so very far in closing the gap between our Declaration and our actions. Emancipation, suffrage, the Civil Rights Act, and more; these all brought us closer to honoring each American’s right to Life, Liberty, and Pursuing Happiness. A government run by human beings will never be perfect, but we can always be better. We’ve still got work to do, it’s clear. The system has been imperfect since its creation, but its founding principles are true, good, and worthy of our celebration.

So, with all of that said, and with apologies for my long-windedness, Happy Independence Day. Let’s celebrate our independence this weekend by honoring all of the leaders in America’s history that have brought us closer to true Independence, and let’s open our ears to where we can still improve. This improvement, this striving for each American’s independence from tyranny, is what makes America truly great, and I’m damn proud to be here.

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Joshua is a son, husband, father, Air Force officer, and public policy enthusiast currently living in Montana with his wife and daughter. The views expressed in this post are his own and do not necessarily reflect the official views or positions of the Air Force or the Department of Defense.