Weekly Opinion Editorial
by Steve Fair
On July 4, 1776, the Second Continental Congress formally adopted the final wording of the Declaration of Independence. While the actual vote to separate from Great Britain took place two days prior on July 2, approving the text on July 4 established the official birthdate of America. It wasn't until August 2, 1776 the Declaration was signed. On that day, 56 of the 65 delegates signed the handwritten parchment copy. Seven outright refused to sign the Declaration. Two were absent due to illness.
On Saturday July 4, 2026, America celebrated the 250th anniversary of declaring independence from Great Britain. Parades, rallies, fireworks, and feasts marked the occasion. Americans love a party, even when they don't know what they are celebrating. According to a Cato Institute poll, 46% of Americans had no clue what the holiday actually commemorated. A whopping 61% of Generation Z (ages 14-29) were clueless about Independence Day.
Sadly, the youth in America know nothing about how and why the United States was founded. The principle each individual possesses unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, is foreign to them. To them, one system of government is as good as the next. That is why socialism/secularism is on the rise in the U.S. As America celebrates the Semiquincentennial, here are three observations:
First, America has failed to educate the next generation. As evidenced by the Cato poll, the youth of America have little knowledge of the United States system of government. Relying on public education to instill the story of how America came to be hasn't worked well. Parents haven't taken any equity in passing along why a representative democratic republic is a superior form of government. The lack of participation by parents in America's self-government system has reaped extreme apathy in their offspring.
Second, America has failed to keep the dream
alive. Since the country's inception,
those who came to America believed regardless of background, one could prosper,
achieve happiness and financial success through hard work, determination, and
initiative. But that dream has been
damaged by government mismanagement and irresponsibility.
The U.S. national debt has grown from $75 million in 1776 to over $39 trillion in 2026. Deficit spending by government has put massive tax burdens on taxpayers, so consumers do the same and spend more than they make. Individual credit card balances in the United States are over $1.25 trillion. Until citizen and government discipline themselves to live within their means, the American dream will be a nightmare.
Third, America is ruled by a permanent political class. Those 56 signers of the Declaration envisioned "citizen-statesmen" those who would serve for a limited time and then return to their private lives. The founders were largely unpaid or offered minimal per-diem wages. They feared a permanent political class would lead to corruption and elitism, ie elected officials who listen only to special interests and ignore their constituents. Sound familiar? Increasingly in America, the only people who can afford to run for office are rich people. The average person can't win because it takes big money to run a political race. So long as the 'grassroots' operate like a circular firing squad and refuse to collaborate with anyone who doesn't 100% agree with their views, expect the wealthy to win and rule.
In 2012, Senator Tom Coburn wrote, "The Debt Bomb." The book warned America's threat to survival wasn't from foreign governments, but from Washington politicians who were spending America into bankruptcy. "Everyone from both the right and left must sacrifice to fix America's mounting debt problems," the late doctor said. Coburn predicted America's debt problem will be its demise.
Meanwhile, America has become Wayne's World; Party on America- Party on!
