July 2, 2007 - Congressman Ron Paul
This week Americans will gather around the grill, attend parades
and watch fireworks displays, all in the celebration of the
signing of our Declaration of Independence. At the same time,
we will have thousands of bureaucrats, troops and agents stationed
in countries across the globe being paid by American tax dollars.
On the anniversary of our declaring our own independence from
the British, it is certainly appropriate that we reflect on
the nature and spirit of independent nationhood. While our
founding fathers were individual men in a historically unique
situation, they posited that the principles upon which they
rested our national independence were timeless.
If we truly honor the men who brought about Independence Day,
we would do well to spend at least as much time reflecting
on the Declaration of Independence, and the principles upon
which it is based, as we spend at the cookouts, parades, and
fireworks displays. With the trend toward globalism that has
been with us for the past century, we should be specifically
thoughtful about how our celebration of independence can be
made consistent with the policies that have been advocated
by the American government -- as well as many of the nation’s
elite— or what we used to call the Eastern Establishment.
I believe there is no way to square our nation’s traditions
and reverence for independence with the globalist policies
these elites are currently pursuing. The American concept of
independent nationhood inscribed in our Declaration cannot
be maintained if we are going to pursue a policy that undermines
the independence of other nations. National independence is
an idea, and the erosion of the independence of other nations
only serves to erode that idea.
At the same time, if we allow the erosion of that idea, by
ignoring it in certain instances, we will be contributing to
its erosion in all times and nations, even our own. In this
way our nation’s independence is linked with the independence
of all nations. The sooner we realize this truth, and enact
a foreign policy that is consistent with it, the sooner we
will be able to recapture the spirit of independence.
In addition, as our founding fathers understood, the idea
of national independence is inseparable from that of constitutional
republicanism. Only the safe-guards and limitations that are
enshrined in a constitutionally-limited republic can prohibit
a nation from lurching toward empire. Recognizing these same
protections is also the very best way to eliminate the need
for civil wars and the violence of civil strife.
Moreover, this constitutional republicanism is essential to
protecting the individual rights and self-determination that
is at the heart of our Declaration. As we celebrate the 231ist
anniversary of our nation’s birth, I hope every person
who reads or hears this will take the time to go back and read
the Declaration of Independence. Only by recapturing the spirit
of independence can we ensure our government never resembles
the one from which the American States declared their separation.
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