Wherever you are, American or not, our Independence Day is something that everybody should celebrate.

I encourage you to read the Declaration of Independence today and every 4th of July.
Read it with your family. With your friends.
Understand what a world-changing idea it was, not just to America, but for the rest of the world as well.

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, –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…

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. 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.

This was no idle pledge. Signing the Declaration of Independence was an act of treason against the most powerful empire the world had ever seen.
Nine signers died of wounds during the revolutionary war.
Five were captured or imprisoned.
Wives and children were killed, jailed, mistreated, or left penniless.
Twelve signers’ houses were burned to the ground.
Seventeen lost everything they owned.
But none of them defected.
Their honor, like their new nation, remained intact.

A Beacon of Hope

Our founders were not perfect, but they risked everything in pursuit of a more perfect Union. A country that today, even with all our flaws, still stands as a beacon of hope throughout the world.

In an article titled “Weren’t We Always Extremists?”, Hannah Cox talks about how America has seldom lived up to our founding ideals, but they are ideals to which we should aspire anyway. Not just in America, but everywhere.

When we said, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,” the reality is that this principle had been self-evident to practically no one throughout thousands of years of history. When we said that all men are “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,” it got people’s attention, and suddenly others began to agree. When we said humans are entitled to “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness,” it became a violation to impede such things. But make no mistake. These notions were not mainstream when our founders threw down the gauntlet with the Declaration of Independence. We were founded by a bunch of extremists who were willing to die for the sake of their radical views.

And the preponderance of those views we now enjoy throughout large parts of the world belies just how fringe they once were. The founding of the US turned the world upside down—not because we eradicated injustice with these words, but because by alleging them we created a new standard by which governments and countries are now judged.

We have always failed to live up to our ideals, there’s no denying that. But we keep alleging them. We keep striving for them. And our history is filled with other extremists who have sought to continue the work our founders began…
We have always been extremists. It is in our blood. It is our heritage. And we cannot stop now.

We are not perfect. We will probably never be. But the founding ideals of this nation continue to generate hope, not just for Americans, but for people worldwide.

People from all over the world continue to risk their lives, their fortunes, their sacred honor for just a chance at the American dream. And millions more risk everything to bring just some of our founding ideals to their homes and their own countries.

So take time today to reflect on the liberties and responsibilities we have been entrusted with, for ourselves and future generations.

Like our founders, I don’t want you to sit idly by and hope things get better. Wherever you are, I want you to build the life and the world you want.

Happy Independence Day!