Freedom ... Brightly

By Douglas V. Gibbs
Author, Speaker, Instructor, Radio Host

Once, on a spillway of a dam near Corona, California, a huge mural read, "200 years of Freedom, 1776 - 1976."

The Bicentennial was an exciting time.

As a kid, history was one of my favorite things. I loved reading about the brave men who placed their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor at risk so that they could deliver freedom to the masses in the form of a government like no other.

July 4, 1976 was something spectacular. The colors seemed a little brighter, the sparklers flared a little more brightly, and the fireworks show in the sky lasted just a little bit longer. My heart thumped with each explosion, and tears ran down my young cheeks as my patriotism welled up in my throat.

Our boys had recently come home from Vietnam. A new presidential election was on the horizon. It was an interesting time, to say the least.


The colors on the spillway have faded. The mural is now unreadable. People have forgotten what it once said. Now, it is just an old mural on an old dam that meant something, once, long ago.

Thomas Jefferson wrote, "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."

In America, that is what sets us apart from the rest of the world. We have an option they do not truly have. We have American Opportunity, the right to pursue happiness.

American Opportunity makes this country an exception to the rule, not just another country on the globe.

American Exception is not arrogance, it is the understanding that we are different. America is a republic based on the concept that we all possess inherent natural rights, and among those are the opportunity to pursue our dreams, to pursue our happiness, and to maintain our liberty.

We The People.

We are the key. The consent of the governed. Those who came before us made the hard choices, and fought to give us our liberty. We have an opportunity to continue that legacy, if only we are willing to.

I am reminded what is America. Americans can overcome the impossible because that is what we do. The words of the Constitution call out to Americans.

Independence Day, for Americans, is actually not July 4th. Independence Day is every day. Independence Day is a cold autumn morning in November. Independence Day is a brisk spring morning. Independence Day is in the Summer Breeze and the Winter Chill. Independence Day is what America is all about, because Independence Day is the day we reject big government, reject socialism, and proclaim that we are unwilling to trade our freedoms for the hollow promises of power hungry politicians who claim we need to be more like Europe.

We are not just another country on the U.N. roll call. We are the United States of America. We have been tested over and over, and we always find a way to defend liberty. We are, after all, exceptional.

We are a country built on godly principles, and sound political doctrine. We are exceptional, and every day is Independence Day.

Look closely.

The mural is not as faded as you think. The word Freedom shines brightly.

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary