Happy Birthday, My Home of the Free and the Brave

Today is the Fourth of July. A date that is important not just for the United States of America, but for the world. Before you criticize my American-centric view, here the facts. The United States' birth was a symbol of freedom's light for the world, and its role in showing the pinnacle of Enlightenment thought and progress is no better demonstrated here.
We celebrate the Fourth because as Americans, we see the need for keeping the light of freedom alive, and because we can always use an excuse to barbecue and often get a day off of work. However, many of us, due to the lack of a good civics lesson, do not know exactly what happened to unveil this light. That being said, each American at his heart knows the goodness of the Great Experiment, and knows that it is our ideals that make us special. But, we all can use a refresher on just what we as Americans stand for, because sometimes we need our head to speak, not just our heart.
It was on this day, in 1776, two years after the shot heard round the world at Lexington and Concord, that the United States were born. Even at this time, our people were not united in giving birth, as almost 1/3 of the population were still loyal to the crown. Keeping that in mind, Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration, showing the world the abuses suffered under the tyranny of King George III, and putting them in permanent ink, demonstrated the resolve and will of the people. The largest and first signature was that of John Hancock, president of the Continental Congress. These fifty-six men bore witness to the Declaration, and many of them would suffer for their principles. The King would label them traitors, and some of them would not fare well during and following the war.
The Declaration turned the rebellion against the King into a revolution for principles of democracy, free government, and a cause that promised a better world. Read the words, out loud. The Declaration reads as a verbal cathedral, uplifting the soul and humbling the body. Even though the largest portion of the Declaration contains the grievances against the king, even these read as a righteous preacher, calling down the devil to account for his crimes.
The war that followed was a vicious, and often cloudy process. The Americans lost more battles than they won, and at one time all of the major cities of the colonies were under British control. However, through the perseverance of our greatest heroes, not limited to but on the highest pedestal General George Washington. It is a common myth that Washington signed the Declaration, but his name is not among them.
Through many difficult and painful years, the brave forces of the Americans and their allies the French surrounded Lord General Charles Cornwallis's army at Yorktown, and the war was won with his surrender. It took two more years for the Treaty of Paris to be signed and ratified, which officially ended the war. With this we had our own country, free of interference from anyone else.
Why are these things important? They are important, and remain so for several reasons. First and foremost is that it demonstrated that a free people can and will defeat a tyranny, even one as powerful as Great Britain. People forget that Great Britain possessed the most powerful army in the world at the time, and the largest and most powerful navy. They had possessions across the globe, and no power challenged them for their role as the world's top superpower. This massive military machine was defeated by a scattered population of 3 million, in which nearly 1/3 did not support the revolution. The United States possessed no navy, and its army consisted of mostly untrained militia. It showed the rightness of the cause that even with these odds, it was the colonials who won their freedom, and tyranny from afar was defeated.
Secondly, the Declaration gives an inkling into what good government is, and is generally how we define it today. Democracy went from a novelty, to the true power in the world. You can see this is just how many countries blatantly continue under dictatorship, which is few. Most nations at least possess the facade of democracy, since it gives legitimacy. The Declaration was the beginning of this.
Thirdly, it shows what a determined group of men, confident in their principles can accomplish. It was these principles which won the war, giving each and every soldier something to fight for. Our first and only state "religion" is America, and all that she stands for. Each soldier believes this at their heart, that America is good and just, and carries this belief into battle. America still fights for these principles, both at home and abroad, and seeks to carry the light of freedom to all of the corners of our dark world.
There are those who disparage all of this, those who believe that America is not good, or just. They believe that America is broken, and was made that way. Even on its birthday, they hold this cancer close to their hearts, where it corrupts them and clouds their eyes. To them, nothing can be said that will cut out this blackness. They must come to it by themselves, or not at all. To those who listen to them, not knowing that there is this wretchedness inside of them, I say this. They want you to believe that America is not perfect. I agree with this. But when perfect ideals are put into practice, they due to our human condition become imperfect. It is a testament to our character that we struggle to unmake these wrongs. This is a battle that never can be won. But to say that our principles are flawed because our execution of them is, no greater lie has been told. We must continue to cherish what our Founding Fathers saw as the light of humanity, and under God's grace we will make the right choices to continue to grasp at overcoming human frailty and fallacy. America is since its founding has been the greatest nation that God has graced our world with. And we will continue to be so, as long as we continue to clutch our principles, knowing that even if we cannot perfectly accomplish them, there is goodness and greatness in reaching for them.
So, I say Happy Birthday, America. You are my home of the free and the brave. I would not wish to be anywhere else, on this day or any other. Now, pass some cake. Corner piece please.