Dependence Day Is Nothing to Celebrate – Ep. 368

Market Closed Early for July 4th Holiday
The U.S. stock market closed early today, ahead of tomorrow's Fourth of July holiday when the markets are of course closed and Americans are out celebrating Independence Day, the birth of the nation, July 4, 1776.  I love the Fourth of July as a holiday; it is purely American.
Framers of the Constitution Risked it All
One of the problems I have with the Fourth of July is that it makes me feel both good and bad about what happened on July 4, 1776.  I am honored to have been born in a nation that was conceived in liberty and I think about the sacrifices made by the people who signed their names beneath John Hancock's name to that document. These men risked it all to put their names on the Declaration of Independence, committing treason against the British government.  If we had lost that war, the King would have killed our founding fathers, as traitors.
The American Experience is Unique and Privileged
So you think back on the accomplishments and the sacrifices that were made and the incredible republic that our founders created.  I'm proud that, but at the same time, I'm sad that it has all been lost.  We no longer have the nation that our founders created for us. We have lost all that it means to be an American. It used to be so special to be American, based on the type of nation that we were, and the type of individuals that Americans were; what it meant to be an American, how unique and privileged it was.
The Role of Government in America
And today, even though the American economy is regarded as at the top, a lot of that is a function of debt and it's all an illusion. The difference  between an American and any European these days is not nearly as great as it was. If you have never read the Declaration of Independence, and I am sure most of you probably had at some point, you might want to take another look at it, and give the entire document a read.  I am going to read just a part of the second paragraph, because this is the most important aspect to understand the essence of what America is supposed to be, and what the American government is supposed to do.  This is important because there are all these Socialists out there who want to re-define America - Democratic Socialism.  This paragraph helps you understand the role of government in America.
We Hold These Truths to Be Self-Evident
Governments can have different roles in different countries, but in America, there is a certain role that government is supposed to have. It had it for a long time, but it no longer fills that role:
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, —