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By Karla Pomeroy
Editor 

Karla's Kolumn: What were we celebrating?

 

July 7, 2018

Wednesday was a national holiday. The Fourth of July. Two hundred forty-two years ago, the Continental Congress declared independence from Great Britain with these words (per transcript from the National Archives:

"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 to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

"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 ... "

This declaration was in the midst of the American Revolution War. About 12 years after the declaration came the Constitution of the United States of America.

The Constitution begins, "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Prosperity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

The Constitution outlines how our representative Republic operates. It provides for a government different than what the colonists had known from the rule of Great Britain and the king. It was and is a government for the people, of the people and by the people.

However, research shows that the Constitution included the first 10 amendments - The Bill of Rights - and that without them the Constitution would likely not have been ratified by the states.

According to the National Archives the preamble to the Bill of Rights states, "The Conventions of a number of the States, having at the time of their adopting the Constitution, expressed a desire, in order to prevent misconstruction or abuse of its powers, that further declaratory and restrictive clauses should be added: And as extending the ground of public confidence in the Government, will best ensure the beneficent ends of its institution."

According to the National Archives, "The Constitution might never have been ratified if the framers hadn't promised to add a Bill of Rights. The first ten amendments to the Constitution gave citizens more confidence in the new government and contain many of today's Americans most valued freedoms."

Did you read that last part – America's most valued freedoms.

That's what we celebrated Wednesday - freedom.

There were posts on social media and commentaries on news shows that we shouldn't celebrate the Fourth of July because of our country's past or because of where our country is at now.

So let's look at where our country is at now.

This country was founded on freedom.

The first and foremost amendment, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

•Freedom from the government establishment of religion. The founders didn't want the government telling them what and how to worship like Great Britain did with the Church of England. (This freedom has been misconstrued by people basically attempting to get the word "God" abolished from existence but that's a topic for another time.)

In this country we do have freedom to worship as we choose. Let's look at just Worland, there are Baptists, Methodists, Latter-day Saints, Seventh-day Adventists, Catholics, Lutherans, and many others with houses of worship and there's many others who worship on their own, in their own way in their homes.

The government is not telling us what and who to worship. That doesn't mean people and organizations don't try, but they can't prevent me or you from worshipping or not worshipping as we see fit.

•Freedom of speech. Well let's just say everyone has been exercising that freedom ad nauseum, especially since the election of President Donald Trump - those who hate him and still (nearly two years later) can't believe or understand how he won (again a topic for another day) - and those who support what President Trump is trying to do for America.

•Free press. President Trump may call things "fake news," may call out a reporter or two, but the government is not, as governments do in other countries, telling us what to print and what not to print.

(I did have a mayor once try to prevent me from running certain letters to the editor and I referred him to this amendment, both in free speech and free press. The letter writer had a right to speak her mind and I had a right to publish that free speech.)

You may get mad at the way Fox News, CNN or MSNBC reports because they show forth their bias, but keep in mind they have that right in this country; and this country, no matter how infuriated you get at the stories, is better off with a free press.

•The right to peaceably assemble. Some people forget the part about peaceably, but one look again at the number of protest just since the 2016 election, or even since the establishment of Black Lives Matter in 2013, shows people exercising that right - a right people in many other countries do not enjoy.

•Right to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. Many people write their senator or representative on a regular basis and with the electronic age you can reach out to the president on Twitter or Facebook, and email your senator, or call them out on social media, and many do just that.

Again, another freedom that many across the world do not enjoy.

Those freedoms ... and more ... are why I celebrated Wednesday. That is why I celebrate being an American. That is why I'm proud of those who fought in the American Revolution against tyranny to make this country free. That is why I'm proud of our military who fight to keep those freedoms. That is why I proudly write this column freely, without the government interference.

No matter who is president, governor or mayor, I will celebrate the Fourth of July/Independence Day every year.

I am proud to be an American. I am proud to live in a country where the founders understood the importance of freedom. They made sure freedom was No. 1 in the Top 10 list of rights of U.S. citizens.

Freedom - it's why I celebrated Wednesday and why I celebrate every day that I live in the United States of America.

 
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