Celebrating Our Freedom On Independence Day

Texas Times

Texans around the state and everyone across our great nation will observe America’s 233th birthday this weekend. The Fourth of July marks the signing of the Declaration of Independence more than two centuries ago. Patriotic displays will take place from coast to coast. Celebrations, parades and fireworks will be aplenty, and the colors of red, white and blue will be prominently displayed.

Even though his prediction was two days short, John Adams described it best in a letter to his wife as Congress was drafting and debating the Declaration of Independence.

“The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more.”

Our Founders declared our Independence and lit the torch of liberty in our land. For more than two centuries, that torch of liberty has led the way forward for our country and inspired men and women, not only in America, but in nations around the world to stand for their own freedom.

Among the rights and freedoms we cherish is the right to peaceably assemble as well as the right to petition the government for a redress of our grievances. Three months ago, Texans and Americans across the country exercised those rights in large numbers, gathering on tax day, April 15, to host coordinated Tea Parties to show their dissatisfaction with the fiscal recklessness happening in Washington.

They protested Washington’s plan to raise net taxes by more than $1.4 trillion over the next decade. They protested Washington’s plan to spend trillions of dollars in reckless spending. They protested Washington’s plan to double our national debt in five years – and nearly triple it in ten years.

I shared their frustrations then, and I share their frustrations now. Nearly three months later, Washington has not learned from its mistakes. Elites have not recognized that we can’t tax and spend our way to prosperity. Instead, Washington is doubling down in its failed strategy. Washington is working on new ways to centralize its power – and limit our freedoms.

The solution is simple. Washington should understand that more freedom – not more government – will turn around our economy and get more people back to work. We should be keeping taxes low, reducing wasteful spending and protecting small businesses.

On this Independence Day, let us look to our Founders for inspiration to face squarely the challenges we face today. Our Founders resisted high taxes – and we can too. Our Founders rejected far-away elites who said that they knew best – and we can too.

Most importantly, our Founders sought not to destroy – but to build. They wanted to build a nation that expanded liberty – and limited government. A nation governed from the bottom up – not the top down. A nation in which every state and town was its own democratic enterprise – its own incubator of innovation. A nation that respected individual dignity by protecting the individual’s God-given rights.

These are the truths that our Founders declared were “self-evident” – and we renew that declaration today.

This Fourth of July, I will be joining other Texans who share their passion and their goals at the Austin Tea Party on the grounds of the State Capitol and will be saluting those who are exercising their First Amendment rights. I pledge to continue working to help Washington learn from the experience of the great state of Texas.

Sen. Cornyn serves on the Finance, Judiciary and Budget Committees. He serves as the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee's Immigration, Refugees and Border Security subcommittee. He served previously as Texas Attorney General, Texas Supreme Court Justice, and Bexar County District Judge.