Happy Independence Day!

Today also marks the 149th birthday of President Calvin Coolidge. While he did not celebrate his birthday later in life, he did celebrate the birth of our great country every year.

Coolidge had a unique perspective on the politics of his day, as he was always a popular outsider in his party and in Washington DC. In 1926, the 150th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, Coolidge said the following:

“It is not so much, then, for the purpose of undertaking to proclaim new theories and principles that this annual celebration is maintained, but rather to reaffirm and reestablish those old theories and principles which time and the unerring logic of events have demonstrated to be sound. Amid all the clash of conflicting interests, amid all the welter of partisan politics, every American can turn for solace and consolation to the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States with the assurance and confidence that those two great charters of freedom and justice remain firm and unshaken. Whatever perils appear, whatever dangers threaten, the Nation remains secure in the knowledge that the ultimate application of the law of the land will provide an adequate defense and protection.”

It can be easy in our time to feel that our foundation is cracked and crumbling, but the ideals that made us unique at our nation’s birth have remained true. We need only trust in them again. So, today when you are with friends and family today, remember that we do not gather to celebrate leaders, lands, or cultures. We celebrate that which the heart of every America yearns for: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.