I cannot take credit for writing this piece, but feel it's a great message of hope in celebrating our Independence.

INDEPENDENCE DAY MESSAGE 2008 Declaration of Independence or Declaration of War? BORN IN WAR. Since its signing in 1776, the Unites States of America's Declaration of Independence has been widely cited for its eloquent articulation of basic human rights and principles of just government.Yet its signers harbored no illusions regarding its practical meaning in their lives and in the lives of their countrymen. It meant War. And war they had - five grueling and bloody years of struggle against what was then the mightiest military power on earth. That struggle was renewed a generation later as our "mother country" attempted unsuccessfully to recapture its former possessions. It was during this second conflict that our National Anthem was penned, describing a scene of war from the perspective of an American captive onboard a British man-o-war in Baltimore Harbor. The traditional singing of this patriotic verse finishes with a question: "Oh, say! does that star-spangled banner yet wave o'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?"The answer then was yes. The answer today remains yes. Soon we will celebrate our nation's founding with ballistic rockets, flares, and explosives, so spectacular against the night sky, and so reminiscent of the condition of our birth, the condition of our preservation - War. We are a nation born and saved in war. It may seem that as a people we are more interested in domestic policies and the "American dream" of prosperity. Yet as long as there remain those bent on our subjugation through coercion or violent attack, we are likely to find ourselves again at war. THERE IS NO PEACE. Why can't we just get along? Patrick Henry pointed to the dilemma in 1775 at St. John's church in Richmond:"...Sir, we have done everything that could be done to avert the storm which is now coming on. We have petitioned; we have remonstrated; we have supplicated; we have prostrated ourselves before the throne, and have implored its interposition to arrest the tyrannical hands of the ministry and Parliament. Our petitions have been slighted; our remonstrances have produced additional violence and insult; our supplications have been disregarded; and we have been spurned, with contempt, from the foot of the throne...."If we wish to be free -- if we mean to preserve inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have been so long contending -- if we mean not basely to abandon the noble struggle in which we have been so long engaged, and which we have pledged ourselves never to abandon until the glorious object of our contest shall be obtained, we must fight! I repeat it, sir, we must fight! An appeal to arms and to the God of Hosts is all that is left us!"They tell us, sir, that we are weak -- unable to cope with so formidable an adversary. But when shall we be stronger? Will it be the next week, or the next year? Will it be when we are totally disarmed, and when a British guard shall be stationed in every house? Shall we gather strength by irresolution and inaction? Shall we acquire the means of effectual resistance, by lying supinely on our backs, and hugging the delusive phantom of hope, until our enemies shall have bound us hand and foot?"Sir, we are not weak, if we make a proper use of the means which the God of nature hath placed in our power. ...Besides, sir, we shall not fight our battles alone. There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations, and who will raise up friends to fight our battles for us. The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave. Besides, sir, we have no election. ...There is no retreat but in submission and slavery! ...The war is inevitable -- and let it come! I repeat it, sir, let it come!"It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, 'Peace!Peace!' -- but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death!" The sixth and final article of the Code of Conduct for Members of the U.S. Armed Forces sums up this sentiment nicely: "I will never forget that I am an American, fighting for freedom, responsible for my actions, and dedicated to the principles which made my country free. I will trust in my God and in the United States of America."The Bible itself spells out the imperative (Matthew 10:34): "Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword."FIGHT, KEEP FAITH, AND PREVAIL. This fighting spirit has made America great. It should beat in the breast of each of us. We do not shirk our responsibility, we do not blink in the face of evil, we confront tyranny and oppression, we live and die by what is right, and we fight. We fight for human dignity; we fight for free expression of conscious; we fight for just and representative government. We fight and we keep faith -- faith in each other, faith in the God of the universe, and faith in our country. And in the end, we shall prevail. We fight, we keep the faith, and we prevail. That's us. That is the United States of America. Let us celebrate the birth of a great nation - with rockets, flares, and exploding fireworks. May we recognize that our Declaration of Independence will often mean a Declaration of War. For right and freedom, we must press the enemy. There is no option. FIGHT ON!

Happy Independence Day and Semper Fi!