Before the first shots were fired at Bunker Hill on June 17, 1775, the seeds of Independence and Freedom had been sown in the hearts of many in the American colonies.  Our struggle for Freedom stretched from 1775-1783 and the many examples of the Providence of God are inspiring.  In April 1775 the armed conflict began at Lexington and Concord with the ‘shot heard around the world.’  France entered the revolution in 1778, siding with the American colonist and shifted the war from an internal civil war into an international conflict. 

When the British surrendered at Yorktown, Virginia, in 1781, the Americans had effectively won their independence, but the war did not formally end until 1783.  The colonists led by George Washington, John and Samuel Adams, Patrick Henry, and John Jay among others detailed their grievances to the British Crown in September 1774.  Their efforts were summarily dismissed and were ignored.  In May 1775 they met again to authorize further action, but by that time fighting had already begun. 

The Second Continental Congress convened in Philadelphia adding Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson to the mix.  They voted to form a Continental Army and appointed George Washington as the Commanding General to lead the military efforts of the colonies.  The Battle of Bunker Hill inflicted heavy damage on the British forces led by General William Howe. The British ultimately won the battle but it gave hope and impetus to the American cause inspiring them to continue their struggle for freedom. 

By June of 1776, the war was in full bloom, and on July 4^th the Continental Congress voted to adopt the edited version of the Declaration of Independence.  That document was the work of a five-man committee including Franklin, John Adams, and Jefferson.  Jefferson is credited with being the most significant contributor and the author of that illustrious and powerful document.  The British response was to send a fleet of over 34,000 troops to New York to crush the insurrection. 

The British routed the colonists on Long Island and forced Washington to retreat and evacuate New York by September 1776.  He shocked the British with a surprise attack in Trenton, New Jersey, on Christmas night and won a victory that reinvigorated the enthusiasm and hope of freedom in the troops and colonists.  By the fall of 1781, the American forces had forced Cornwallis to withdraw to the Yorktown peninsula in Virginia.  Washington moved against Yorktown with 14,000 troops and 26 French warships which trapped the British blocking their possible retreat.  Cornwallis was forced to surrender on October 19, 1781. 

Cornwallis claimed illness and send his second, Charles O’Hara to formally surrender.  O’Hara approached the French General Rochambeau to surrender his sword, but the Frenchman deferred to Washington who nodded to his second, Benjamin Lincoln to accept the sword.  One slight was met with another and the spirit of pride and independence has long lived in the hearts of Americans and is part of what has made America the Great Nation she has been and still is.

We are standing at another crossroads in our history and the entire world is watching.  This nation has long been known, the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave.  We have long been viewed as a beacon of enduring hope, and a place of genuine promise.  On Ellis Island, Lady Liberty stands with her torch raised high and immigrants from all walks of life and all over the globe come and see that as a beacon of hope.  The American Dream was alive and has been thriving for over 240 years and is now in the cross-hairs of destruction and fundamental transformation. 

Is the American Dream dead?  I hope not.  I am proud to be an American and proudly honor the flag that waves over this land and provides the symbol that declares our belief in Life, Liberty, and the right to pursue Happiness.  Former President Barack Obama went on a world tour apologizing for America and decrying the idea of American exceptionalism.  I took offense and still do when anyone verbally or visibly disrespects this nation, the land of my birth. 

Tragically, many seem to have forgotten where we came from and what has made this nation the Great Symbol of Hope she has been for more than two centuries.  We did not become a superpower and a great nation by osmosis or accident.  It was the result of following the principles of liberty espoused in our Declaration of Independence and Constitution and embraced by our Founders.  It was more than simply having great ideas that have made America great.  I believe that America has been great, in part, because she has embraced good and followed key moral and biblical principles.

Have we failed and sinned, at times?  Yes!  Have we fallen short of the founding principles, at times?  Yes!  But America has been an international defender of freedom, and often a rescuer in times of crisis.  I would never insist that we have always made the right choices, acted morally or rightly, and pursued the right things with the right motives.  That assertion would be an insult to history.  However, our core principles and constitution are based on the right, the good, the moral, and provides the pathway to being and doing right.

I contend that on this celebration of our Independence we must remember that freedom must be passed as a legacy from generation to generation.  We must never lose sight of the reality that we are always one generation away from losing our freedom and liberty.  Essentially, we are always one election away from despotism, tyranny, and fundamental transformation. 

Hard work, willingness to risk, and dare to dream have been key factors in our success but are not the real reason for our greatness as a republic.  Our real source of greatness is found in our recognition of our Creator and His granting us providence and inalienable rights that we have defended.  At our beginning, we dedicated ourselves to the purposes of God and until more recent history have honored God as the true source of many of our blessings.  We have drifted from those moorings and if we want to keep America great and free, we must return to our founding principles. 

That is why I will vote in November to keep America free and therein keep America great.  I will vote against the globalists, liberals, progressives, socialists who want to strip from us our freedoms and liberties and become our overlords.  I will vote for President Trump and vote to defeat every liberal leftist on the ballot.

God bless you and God bless America!