On this day in 1776, a group of men stood together to declare that they were more than subjects of a faraway power. They declared that there were certain things worth fighting for, worth dying for.

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. 

Now, 243 years later, we need reminding that we are descended from such men. We need reminding that, as citizens, we rule those we choose to serve in government. We need reminding that, should we not hang together, we shall certainly hang separately.

No matter how much we disagree, or how deeply our disagreements cut, that we are all Americans. We breathe the same air, rise from the same soil, bleed the same lifeblood for our cause. Yes, we come from a myriad of peoples and experiences. Yes, there has been injustice in our history, as well as our present.

We do not always meet the standard we set for ourselves, but it should never be for lack of trying.

Now, we stand apart from one another, and we risk destroying all that has been built and achieved in 243 years of strife and striving.

Even as we teeter on the edge of the abyss, we must hold one another up. We must stand together, unconquered, unbowed. No matter what the world, or even we ourselves, throw at us, we should never forget that we are Americans, by birth or by choice.

Together, there is nothing we cannot accomplish, nothing we cannot defend. Only we can bring down this shining city upon a hill, only we can destroy what the blood of patriots has purchased.

I wish all of you the joy of this Independence Day, no matter how you choose to celebrate.

America Invicta, so long as we stand together.