It started with a bunch of colonists, and some hotheads, and some folks who had had enough of the rule of a king on another continent.

It became the Best Damned Country on this planet.

It became the country that the strongest, the best and the brightest chose to emigrate to, the brave and courageous souls were willing to leave friends and family on a one way trip in order to come here for the opportunity to succeed.

It became a country that fed fully half the world, because it had farmers who worked hard and grew incredible amounts of grain.

It became a country that had the greatest industry…..and the most productive workers…. so much so that in WWII it outproduced all the other allied countries by a factor of 12, so much so that the United States GAVE AWAY war materiel and machines to their allies.

It became the country that was a shining beacon for the people who merely wished for a chance to live and work and to succeed…Many of whom risked their lives to simply arrive at those shores.

It became the country that held back Communism, on two fronts, that kept half or more of Europe free (for a given measure of Free) as well as a significant portion of Asia..

It became the country that did more, helped more people, fed more people, defended more people and saved more lives than all the other countries on earth COMBINED.  That put a Man on the Moon, and demonstrated what real Free People can accomplish.

And today, this day, 250 years ago, is the day those leaders, those rebels, those radicals, those representatives of the colonists… They told the king of England that he was no longer their ruler.

Read that document here, just in case you haven’t.

Read it carefully: it is well written. A portion:

In Congress, July 4th, 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:

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,

Go on, read the rest. I’ll wait.

Just words, written on parchment by hand, But those words changed so much. Created a country that is so much.

Those men, with their signatures, began the birth of the greatest country on earth, one that I am incredibly lucky to be born as a citizen in, one that gave me the rights and advantages that I had over nearly every citizen of any other country. That pledge, by the signers, of their “Lives, Fortunes and Sacred Honor” was the start of a wonderful thing.

That Declaration, that statement, along with the Constitution that would come later, made the United States what it is today. Not perfect, perhaps, but Pretty Damned Good.

And I, for one, am proud and honored to be a citizen of that country.

Go celebrate this day, this Independence Day. This birthday of a country: Remember what the celebration today is meant for, and remember the people who made it happen, and those who have defended that country and that way of life that began 250 years ago….The immigrants  that became citizens, that built this country into what it is, and what it is. Raise a glass, take a moment, and honor those who signed that Declaration and chose to rule themselves….and be thankful that you can do so 250 years later, here in the best Damned Country ever on this planet.

Happy Birthday USA!