Okay, Here's Your Quill Pen...

Now sign it.

Joe Biden in lieu of John Hancock? Doubtful.

Consider how much courage it took to sign the Declaration of Independence 249 years ago. Those guys weren’t just signing a postcard; they were telling the strongest man in the strongest country in the world that the hugely rich colonies he believed he owned by divine right were no longer his. Bye-bye.

Many of them suffered because of it. Some died. As you might guess, liberals have been trying to rewrite their stories in recent years. USA Today ran an article in 2021 claiming that many of their sad fates weren’t because they signed the Declaration but only because they were involved in the Revolution. As if one had nothing to do with the other. No doubt the leftists at the newspaper were irked that not a single one of the signers was female, black or bisexual. Sor-ry.

Now consider how rare it is for people to stand up for freedom. While some revolutions have succeeded, until 1776 they were aimed at replacing one all-powerful autocrat with another. “Our despot is better than your despot!” “Our brutal dictator could kick your brutal dictator’s ass!” “Genghis, Genghis, he’s our man! If he can’t slaughter you, no one can!”

You get the idea. But to go to all that trouble to give other people freedom—who would do that? You can argue it was only done to help white males, but remember the signers of the Declaration were all doing pretty well under the British. None of them rode a rented donkey to the Continental Congress. They could have kept doing what they were doing, but what they did led directly to the freedom we all have today. No one tries to sell you into slavery or chain you to a stove.

The Declaration of Independence even acknowledges your right to your own revolution, right there in its second segment;

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.

But would we do it today? Doubtful. Back then the British government was taxing colonists in the single digits; today various governments in this country steal—excuse me, require—some 40% of everything we make, yet when Donald Trump tries to lower taxes, half the country hates him.

What would liberals of today do in the situation the Founders faced on July of 1776? As George Orwell predicted in his novel 1984, they would sell everything as its opposite: freedom is slavery, war is peace, and so on. They might sign a “Declaration of Independence” but it would be just the opposite; “We hereby declare ourselves free of the poisonous belief that King George is a bad person. We are hereby free of the need for firearms and revolution, and our slaves are free of the need to look for jobs and worry about supporting themselves.” And right below that, in the largest font possible, would be Joe Biden’s name signed by Autopen.

True freedom is a rare thing; it scares people. “We have a right to health care. We have a right to housing.” When a “right” becomes a claim on someone else’s freedom or property, it has nothing to do with freedom. In fact, you are required to give up freedom every time someone offers you something “free.” “Canada has free health care.” You mean, nobody pays for it? “Well, it’s paid for in your taxes.” So, not only is it not free, I’m required to pay for your medical bills even if you’ve done nothing to keep yourself healthy. In return for your giving up freedom and money, the government says it will take care of you, but if you need a hip replacement you’ll wait in pain for a year before you get it, with the government hoping you’ll save them some money and die before the date it’s scheduled.

On July Fourth we celebrate the freedom earned for us by those men 249 years ago. Three days ago Canada celebrated Canada Day, which proudly proclaims that they never had the courage to fight for freedom and still salute the King of England as their monarch. Whoopee.

But the question remains: would you sign the Declaration today and put everything you own at risk for freedom?

You’d better hope so, because the day Americans stop being brave enough to do exactly that, we’ll lose what little freedom we have left.