A summer like no other

The summer of 1776 must not have been much different from other summers gone and yet to come: Hot, muggy and miserable for those who had to work out in it. And in 1776 that included most people.

Like any other summer, that particular one 239 years ago was alive with fragrances in full bloom; the sounds of children playing in fields of wild flowers, and splashing about in creeks and ponds where it was cool; young animals frolicking in the fields; men and women toiling in their gardens and on their farms; and the happy songs of birds, crickets and frogs relishing in the summer solstice.

But as common as the summer of 1776 seemed at the time, little did the people living in it know that it would become the summer unlike any other in the history of the world.

In the spring of 1776 a group of delegates making up the Second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia to form a new nation, conceived in individual liberty and political freedom. They spent days, even weeks agonizing in the late spring and early summer heat while struggling to come to an agreement of what to say to King George III, monarch of Great Britain and absolute ruler over the American colonies.

In preceding years, resistance to the British crown had been escalating because of growing incidents of political tyranny and inequality. From the Stamp Act to the tea tax, angst and anger among the American colonies over the King's unfair treatment of his subjects in the New World was spreading. Colonists reacted to the King's proclamations with exclamations of their own, including a March 1770 protest that resulted in the Boston Massacre, and the Boston Tea Party of December 1773.

In early 1775, King George III dispatched a legion of several thousand troops to the colonies in an effort to snuff out rebellion and discourage further spread of revolutionary fervor. The trouble is that he was too late. By the time the British army landed, colonists were waiting for them with bated breath. Night riders like the famed Paul Revere rode from town to town warning of the advance of the British army into the countryside. Militias of armed colonists met the British "Red Coats" at the crossroads of Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts, on April 19, 1775.

From that point forward, the war was on.

Before the Second Continental Congress had convened to decide the issue of in 1776, the colonies had unofficially been in rebellion against Great Britain for over a year. The infamous yet inspiring Battle of Bunker Hill had already taken place and the Continental Army had been driven from Long Island, New York.

Colonial forces, led and commanded by Gen. George Washington, were already on the run when the delegates in Philadelphia met to come to an agreement on independence.

A young Virginia lawyer named Thomas Jefferson was in charge of drafting a declaration that was to be sent to and read by King George III himself.

The exact date of the signing of Jefferson's Declaration of Independence is uncertain, but we know that the convention of the Second Continental Congress was in session on July 4, 1776 and that a draft of the Declaration had been presented on or around that day.

Nonetheless, when Jefferson penned the final draft, it was presented to the delegation, which then, to the last man, signed it.

The very last words of the Declaration of Independence turned out to be its most poignant: "To these ends, we, the undersigned, pledge our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor."

That just about summed up what America's Founding Fathers stood for. They were prepared to shed their own blood, if necessary, to not only defend independence, but to see it come to fruition. They were prepared to give the last full measure of devotion for an idea that men are not only created free and equal under God, but also have a right to be free and equal.

I often wonder what the founders would think about American society today.

What would they say about the growth and size of government over the last century? How would they feel about the role of government in our daily lives? Most importantly, what would they think of the tens of thousands of laws passed by Congress over the past several decades all in an effort to try and protect the American public from itself?

Would they approve, or perhaps be aghast at the gross violations of individual liberty being committed by government today, and the apathy and complacency of the people to let it happen to them?

How would they regard the Affordable Care Act's mandate to require an individual to purchase a product on the free market, or face a stiff financial penalty?

How would they react toward present efforts to censor the Confederate Battle Flag? Or, those efforts bent on censoring individuals for what has come out of their mouths? (a la Paula Deen)

Benjamin Franklin once said, "Those who would trade essential liberty for a little temporary security are deserving of neither liberty nor security."

It seems that today's America has either forgotten or ignored those words.

Nearly every law passed today is supposedly for our own good. But each law that is passed shaves and chips away a little bit of personal, individual liberty. So small is the change from each law that we scarcely notice it. But put all of those chips and shavings into a pile and we might become alarmed at just how much individual liberty has been altered, even lost over the years.

And why? Because people have misused and abused liberty for their own selfish purposes and gains. Their misconception of liberty being the freedom to do whatever one wants, or go wherever one pleases whenever one wishes, has led to abuses that have hurt others. Add to it that politicians see suffering as an opportunity for self-aggrandizement; to puff out their feathers and beat their chests while seeking election to high office; making changes to the law that end up being unnecessary or redundant; and exerting their power and authority in government.

The result is a recipe for lost liberty and superficial freedom; that is, freedom that the government permits us, rather than authentic freedom that comes only from the grace of Almighty God.

This is not the freedom that the founders staked their lives, their fortunes or their sacred honor for. This is not the freedom that thousands of early colonists died to obtain during the American Revolution. This is not the freedom that hundreds of thousands more have perished to protect and defend over the centuries.

To the founding generation of 1776, essential liberty meant choosing to do what was right even when one could choose to do what was not. Freedom, to our founders, required exercising self-regulation and self-governance; in a word, self-control. This meant that having a conscience and acting on its behalf was essential to practicing liberty.

Too many people in our society today seem less than enthusiastic about applying self-control. In a culture that promotes impulsiveness, and pushes anything fast or immediate, it is no wonder that the pursuit of instant gratification seems to easily over-power the very concept of self-control.

The notion of self-control is an idealistic pipe dream, some may say. Expecting people to deny an impulse and act on conscience is just not realistic. Self-control requires discipline, after all, and that's the last thing people will respond to. This is why we need government to do the regulating and policing for us. The individual cannot be entrusted to do this on his or her own.

That is the way a patronizing and paternalistic elitist may look at our society today and the culture our Founders fought to instill. But, the way I see it, if self-control was good enough for the Founders to pursue essential liberty with, then it is certainly good enough for us.

America has lost her way. I fear that the sacrifices of our ancestors may have been in vain if we don't wake up, take gentle hold of precious liberty and cradle it as the fragile, priceless gift that it is; not the entitlement we have come to expect it to be.

I hope we all remember what the Fourth of July is really all about. Not fireworks, hot dogs, barbecues or parties. Not flags or colors or even patriotism.

The Fourth of July is really about the birth of an idea; an idea that changed the world for the better. An idea that has given hope to millions worldwide.

But like all other ideas, those of the America Revolution are not invincible. In fact, they are fragile. They die if we do not take care of them, love them, cherish them or hold them dear to our hearts.

May this Fourth of July, in the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand and Fifteen, be the one that spawns change in our hearts, our culture, our society and our government. Change that brings us back to where we should be and where individual liberty can flourish without being choked to death by laws, policies and regulations. May this be the year we decide as a people to live by the principles of the Declaration of Independence and the American Revolution; not just pay them lip service.

Those values were relevant then and they are relevant now. They are the values that promote and spawn individual initiative, invention, ingenuity, and greatness. They promote equality for all; not just a few. They support the pursuits of happiness for everyone; not just the privileged.

And these values were designed to keep government honest; something I think every one of us--liberal, conservative, progressive, moderate, right and left wing--can appreciate.

There are those among us who say that the values of the American Revolution, America's traditional values, are antiquated and outdated. They cannot be applied effectively in today's culture and society.

I say they can. People change. Values and principles do not. All it would take for the revolutionary principles to succeed again is for peoples' beliefs in them to change. When you believe in something, you will do what it takes to make it work.

The America of our founders can live again, if we will it to. The question is, do we have the courage and the fortitude to do what the delegates of the Second Continental Congress did 239 years ago? Are we willing to pledge our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor for an idea? If we are, then America's greatness will return. If not, she is poised to sadly fade into obscurity.

I hope and pray that Americans haven't lost their will to fight for what they believe in. I cling to a hope and belief that the principles and values of the Revolution and the Declaration are not forgotten and are still loved.

This Fourth of July, make an effort to plant the seed of liberty into your heart, nurture it, cultivate it, and help it grow. Resolve to teach your children that liberty isn't free and it comes at a great price. But it is one worth paying, because it has done so many great things for people worldwide.

Be happy, be safe, but most of all, be free.