HIGHLAND, UT | 4 July 2008 | Ah! The Fourth of July! That great mid-summer holiday. Full of parades and beauty pageants, fireworks, barbecues, 10k races, pancake breakfasts in the park, and flag raising ceremonies. This is what this holiday is all about, right? Oh, and thinking about the signing of the Declaration of Independence (whatever that is). I sure am glad those guys did that in summertime so we could have such an awesome party.

Independence Day is also a day to reflect. Do we recognize the price our Founders paid to win their independence? Do we know of the struggle leading up to that great event? What do we know about those men? Do we buy in to the image so prevalent today that they were philandering old men or have we done our homework and recognize their virtue? Do we just spend our day lounging around, getting drunk, and exercising the inner urge to blow things up?

The Founders started a revolution, but they did not complete it. They recognized it would take many generations to complete what they started. Yes, they were able to validate their declaration of political sovereignty; but their revolution was so much more. They subsequently created a government to transcend the ages, one which had never been tried before. One which honored the individual and allowed the individual to govern himself.

The Founders revolution included three areas. The first, most well-known is the political revolution, discussed above. The basic premise is that man is able to govern himself and doesn’t need a king or elected officials to tell him what to think and how to act. How are you doing? Do you govern yourself or do you allow others (political leaders, bosses, Kommissars*, etc.) to control your life? Second, this revolution was one of religious freedom, or freedom of conscience. Finally, to be a citizen of a nation an individual did not have to be the member of a certain church. He could choose for himself, according to the personal belief system within his own mind. The third portion of the revolution is economic. Through capitalism people can freely exchange with one another, individuals can do more than just live paycheck to paycheck. They are free to discover their life’s missions and to pursue those with that same freedom of conscience and to strive to leave the world better than when they entered it.

This revolution—all three portions of it—are not intended only as a collective revolution; it is a personal revolution. So how are you doing? Do you understand the purpose of the revolution? Do you live the revolution, or are you just living paycheck to paycheck, getting up when others say you should, going places others say you should, thinking the ideas others say you should? Or do you practice your own autonomy? Are you actively engaged in a personal revolution? Do you celebrate independence all year long, or is it a  0.27% of the year?

MRFC Principle:

*German spelling used intentionally for effect.