So begins one of the most famous documents in the history of human civilization. Those words, and their meaning, are often lost in the bustle of contemporary July 4th celebration. I find it comforting from time to time to read the entire document, especially around Independence Day. The writing is simultaneously inspiring, coldly logical, soaring rhetorically, and lilting in its phraseology. It lays out the case for Independence so clearly, it such compelling language that no reader whether then, now or in some future generation fails to understand the logic of the argument put forth. These men of the enlightenment - farmers, bankers, brewers, lawyers, publishers, merchants -understood that they were standing at the gateway of a new era. They understood that the old order that had prevailed since the fall of the Roman republic was crumbling. They also understood the risks that they were taking in signing such a revolutionary document.

My advise this holiday: watch this video and read the Declaration of Independence. It will, I'm sure, cause you to reflect on the meaning of the holiday.

All the best,

Ray