Dilenschneider
Robert Dilenschneider

Among all our national holidays, July 4th is the most historic, for this is when we mark the birth of our nation and celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence 249 years ago this year.

The final words of that inspiring document are especially moving as the Founding Fathers dedicated "our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor" to the cause of independence. We must never forget how courageous that pledge was, for the signers of the Declaration really were risking everything they possessed by defying what was then the greatest military power on Earth.

Tragically, many did lose their homes, their fortunes and in several cases their lives. The Redcoats were relentless in pursuing them and merciless in punishing anyone they captured. Thomas Jefferson would have been among the victims were it not for a middle-of-the-night warning he received that troops were closing in on Monticello.

We celebrate this July 4th in a time of tension and division within our nation, with many uncertainties about what lies ahead. All the more reason, then, to celebrate all the things that unite us and all the reasons we are proud to be Americans. Among them:

  • Our national security is ensured by the world's best trained, best equipped, most dedicated Armed Forces.
  • We remain the global leader in entrepreneurship.
  • We have what is measurably the world's most productive workforce.
  • The vast majority of our young people are filled with the same confidence, optimism and ambition as the many generations of Americans before them.

Let us continue, therefore, our historic commitment to the principles of the Declaration of Independence. And let us remember that despite the many crises our nation has faced in the nearly two and a half centuries since its signing, we have always come together, and we have always prevailed.

Enjoy the holiday.

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Robert L. Dilenschneider is the Founder and CEO of The Dilenschneider Group, an international communications firm.