This Independence Day, people from all over the country will celebrate the holiday by gathering in groups to read America's birth certificate, The Declaration of Independence. This event is being arranged by Hillsdale College, who is giving out free copies of the document to anyone who signs up to read it.
By Jack Minor
July 1, 2012
World Net Daily
This Independence Day, people across the country will celebrate the momentous national holiday by gathering in groups to read America’s birth certificate.
President Calvin Coolidge, in a speech on the 150-year anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, called it “the most important civil document in the world” and “one of the great charters that not only was to liberate America but was everywhere to ennoble humanity.”
Hillsdale College is promoting “Read the Declaration” this July 4. To facilitate the reading, Hillsdale is offering free copies of the Declaration of Independence to those who sign up to read it.
In a statement about the event, Hillsdale said, “This can be the largest-ever public reading of the Declaration in American history! We want hundreds of thousands, even millions, of Americans setting aside a few minutes to remember the legacy of liberty our Founders entrusted to us.”
The college adds that the reason it is encouraging the public reading this year is because the 2012 election is a pivotal one for America.
“At this crossroads moment in American history, we need millions to join with us this July 4 … and help spark a nationwide conversation in time for this year’s elections.”
While the U.S. Constitution is the document that governs how the nation is to be run, the Declaration of Independence is considered America’s founding document.
As such, its text is frequently used to rebut the argument that there is no reference to a deity in the Constitution and, therefore, America was not established on Christian principles.
While the Constitution lacks mentions of God (the only exception is in the date found in the Signatory section, where the date is written: “Seventeenth Day of September in the Year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and Eighty seven”), the Declaration is replete with such references.
The opening paragraph makes a reference to the “Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God.” The following paragraph goes on to echo this theme, making it clear that rights do not come from government, but from God.
“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.”
The document also ends with an acknowledgement of God.
“We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States.”
Coolidge also pointed out that the principles espoused in the Declaration were a direct result of the clergy of that day.
“No one can examine this record and escape the conclusion that in the great outline of its principles the Declaration was the result of the religious teachings of the previous period. The profound philosophy which Jonathan Edwards applied to theology, the popular teaching of George Whitfield, had aroused the thought and stirred the people of the Colonies in preparation for this great event.”
He went on to say that the principles in the Declaration were not the product of “enlightenment” but were found in the pulpits of America.
“They are found in the texts, the sermons, and the writings of the early colonial clergy who were earnestly undertaking to instruct their congregations in the great mystery of how to live. They preached equality because they believed in the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man. They justified freedom by the text that we are all created in the divine image, all partakers of the divine spirit.”
A reading of the Declaration reveals stark similarities between the events in 1776 and today, enough so that some have called for a “new” Declaration of Independence.
In 2010, WND reported on how Judge Roy Moore paraphrased the Declaration of Independence at the tea-party convention in Nashville, listing his own “bill of particulars.”
He has ignored our history and our heritage, arrogantly declaring to the world that we are no longer a Christian nation. He’s elevated immorality to a new level, setting aside the entire month of June last to celebrate Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender pride.He now threatens to change our law, 10 U.S.C. Section 654, to allow homosexuality in our military in direct opposition to the law which says that the attempt to engage in homosexuality will create an unacceptable risk to the high standards of morale, good order and discipline and unit cohesion that are the essence of military capability.
He has apologized to the Arab world for our past, subjugated our national sovereignty by bowing down to the king of Saudi Arabia.
He has pursued a socialist agenda by taking control of private companies and pushing a national health-care plan with a public option. Backed by a willing Congress, he has bought off our senators and our representatives with our own money in an effort to mandate this agenda. And when opposed by members of the Senate, he smugly smiled and said, “I won.”
He concluded with a direct quote from the Declaration saying, “A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.”
