Amen, George.

Things may not be as rosy as we'd like right now, but we still live in the greatest country on Earth.

"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."


Pay special attention to the last line written before these men signed their names:

"And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor."

Take a moment to remember that the pledge they were making was not composed of idle words. By signing that document they had just made a do or die decision that would either result in the formation of a new nation, or their certain deaths.

Take a minute to read the entire document here and reflect on the courage and dedication to cause these men had.

Happy 233rd birthday, America. May you have as many more.

nice post Dusty, everyone should (re)read that, amazing the foresight those guys had to build a logical document to govern people that has lasted over 200 years (and without change can last another 200 or more)...is it just me or could some of our present day leaders use some of that wisdom ? When I served in the Navy I saw many different countries and can say "we got the best one".. everyone enjoy your day .

Thank you Mr.Jefferson, and the rest of our founding fathers.

Thanks, Mike, and thanks again to you and all of our other soldiers, airmen, sailors, and marines for the freedom you all earn for us every day.

I know that these kinds of posts can seem hokey, but I believe we need to be sincerely thankful more often for what we have.

wow, you know I wonder sometimes how many of us have forgotten those guys, i think with some of what goes on now those guys would have made some trouble for some of our current leaders. I am BLESSED that I live in the greatest state in the greatest nation in the world. Today is the day we need to remember that this nation was founded by some rebels who were disgusted with what was going on and stood up and said something about it and then they did something....if only a couple of us could be that brave today....

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, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government.


Some of My favorite parts.

But isn't it our duty as Americans to work within the system first and then, only when that fails completely, to take that ultimate step? Although we may not be where we would like to be as a country, we still have time to make it happen, but that will take more discussion and less finger pointing.

No matter your political leanings, our slide from the ideas set forth by the founding fathers are probably not as sudden or abrupt as they may seem. Changes that seem "reasonable" taken together, over time tend to turn into a situation that make us wonder how we got here.

We need to find our commonality with our fellow Americans again and find fewer reasons to dislike one another. However, while keeping our common goals in mind, we also need to be wary of putting even more laws in place. We need to strive to make common sense more common and make personal responsibility and accountability our guiding force instead of trying to legislate it.

We also need to have a thicker skin and remember that the freedom of speech is not a freedom from being offended. Make it a point to cultivate some friends that don't share the same viewpoints you do and both of you will learn something.

I think you are right, these guys dealt with a lot of nonsense before they decided it was time to deal with it, way more than the stuff we deal with now, I mean none of us are being shipped off to "stand trial" before a King because his baby sisters youngest son said we didnt like him.

It also says in there that a long standing government shouldnt be changed for light and transient reasons, I dont think we should change our government I think we should expect more from our leaders, say we were in the same situation these guys were i dont have confidence that our current leaders,even the ones I voted for would be what those guys were then, does that make sense?

that is what I meant and my favorite parts of that document show the courage and dedication those men had and I admire that. As far as our fellow americans goes I have a theory on that as well but this is neither the time or the place...So Happy July 4th to everyone and I caught some fish this morning before work so what are yall doing today?

YES! I can finally put that third artillery shell in the tube!!!! -[from the distance] "NO, TIM NO"


-HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!!!!! -now lets go blow sumpin up

Ready on the left?

Ready on the right?

All clear on the firing line.


FIRE IN THE HOLE!

Please remember that it's pretty dry, so let's be careful out there.

I arrived in Colorado Springs Thursday evening to find out that our City has no money for the annual 4th celebration, normally one of the finest anywhere. No symphony in the park, no fireworks, nothing. While the smaller community celebrations will go on, I found it intersting that the annual Ft. Carson display, usually an after thought, will be the biggest celebration in town this year.

Hats off to the folks at the Mountain Post for keeping the spirit this year.

BHR

I hate to say it but the springs is just a little bit koo-ku. How do you run out of money? Thats just bad budgeting.