In 1776 on this day, our founding fathers created, in Abraham Lincoln's words, "a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal." For the first time in human history, a nation was brought into being recognizing, as our Declaration of Independence affirms, that all persons "are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
This idea - that every human being enjoys unalienable rights, and that it is government's duty to protect such rights - was at once a revolutionary political notion and a restatement of the ancient and beautiful teaching that every human life is precious because each is made in God's image. Dedication to the nation's founding principles has allowed our people to realize their genius and made the United States of America the greatest nation in human history.
To all Americans, I wish you a happy and blessed July Fourth.
