Independence

On this day in 1776, Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence. It is a remarkable document, and it deserves to be read (again, if need be). It's not a brief document, but it gets to the point quickly enough. Most of it is a laundry list of reasons why the Colonies no longer deign to allow the King of England or Parliament to rule over them. These, too, are worth re-reading.

In ten days (and thirteen chronologically relative years), the citizens of Paris will enact their own version of the Declaration of Independence by violently overthrowing their King and storming the Bastille, a political prison. It is instructive to note the many, many differences both in circumstances and results of the two Revolutions, and it is equally instructive to compare both sets of circumstances to our modern age.

To wit, we do not live in the bosom of a system broken beyond repair, and, while our system is not perfect, we have the tools to fix our system without resorting to violence, anarchy, or revolution. This is good. As Winston Churchill noted, "It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried." I would note, however, that our democracy is a self-repairing organism built on cells like you and me; our participation, through speech and votes, is our affirmation of the document signed 231 years ago today.

Here's to Independence.