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| Robert Dilenschneider |
The Founding Fathers who voted to approve Thomas Jefferson's Declaration of Independence on that special day in Philadelphia's Independence Hall were well aware that they were making history as they pledged "our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor" to the creation of a new nation.
What they could not realize was that they were giving birth to what would become the most dynamic and influential nation the world has ever known.
How appropriate, then, that the Declaration itself is a magnificent document, filled with concepts and principles that have inspired people throughout the last two and a half centuries, and that continue to inspire today.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.
That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government.
Written in a time when absolute monarchs ruled much of the world and when many lands were under the control of exploitive colonial powers, the document that the Continental Congress approved on July 4, 1776, provided a great beacon of hope. The 19th century independence movements in so much of Latin America, for example, drew on the Declaration for guidance and justification.
And, so as we Americans celebrate this historic July 4, 2026, let us renew our commitment to the principles of the Declaration of Independence — our dedication to protecting and promoting "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
And let us remember that despite the many crises our nation has faced during the past two and a half centuries, we have always come together. And we have always prevailed.
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Robert L. Dilenschneider is the Founder and CEO of The Dilenschneider Group, an international communications firm.
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