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independence: freedom from control or influence of another or others

Today is July 4, 2006.

It has been 230 years since the drafting and signing of the Declaration of Independence by America's founders.

That's why some of us – too few, really – call the holiday we commemorate today "Independence Day." That is, indeed, the actual name of the holiday.

It's not just the Fourth of July. It's not just the day we shoot off Chinese-made fireworks. It's not just the day we barbecue burgers. It's not just the day we go to the beach. It's Independence Day – so named because on or about this date in 1776, a group of courageous men risked their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor for a dream of freedom and sweet autonomy from an imperial power.

By the way, it wasn't just the birth date of American freedom. It was the birth date of freedom around the world. That's why the French called George Washington not just the founding father of the American Revolution, but "the father of freedom." He was truly the inspiration for freedom fighters everywhere.

We ought to mark this occasion with some real reflection – even some solemnity and sobriety.

Unfortunately, too few Americans today put much value in independence. Most no longer celebrate, cherish or appreciate independence. Independence is not considered an ideal.

It's no accident. Our political and cultural elite don't want to see a nation full of independent-minded, self-governing citizens who will hold their leaders accountable to their will and the laws of the land. They would prefer sheep.

That's why you will hear so many of them preach about the value of living in an "interdependent" world. Have you heard that? " Interdependence" – this is considered a good thing. Keep in mind every time you hear that word "interdependence" glorified and revered that interdependence is simply a synonym for "dependence."

It has nothing to do with "independence" – that thing for which our founders risked their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor.

The sad truth is the American dream of independence has been betrayed. Americans are worse off today, in terms of individual freedom, than they were before the War of Independence. In fact, take a look at the dictionary definition of "colony" and see if it doesn't apply to us today.

colony: 1) a group of people who settle in a distant land but remain under the political jurisdiction of their native land 2) a territory distant from the state having jurisdiction or control over it

Aren't Americans, in a sense, all colonists of the great imperial throne in the District of Columbia? We all pay tribute to this faraway empire. We are, in reality, little more than serfs doing the bidding of those in the federal corridors of power in Washington. We're taxed without real representation. We're forced to support a growing standing army of federal police in our communities. And we face a growing threat of disarmament – one of the great fears of the colonists who touched off the American Revolution at Lexington and Concord.

What do you think?

Are we better off today that our forefathers were in 1776?

Are we living freer lives today than were the founders?

If George Washington and Thomas Jefferson could return today to see America – the tax rates, the overreaching central government, the subservience of states to Washington, the non-limitations on the federal government – would they consider us free? Would they consider us independent?

Is American sovereignty and independence still worth a fight?

What are you willing to risk? What are you willing to sacrifice today in the name of freedom and independence?

Land of Hope and Fulfilled Dreams
By Melissa Charbonneau
CBN News

CBN.com –WASHINGTON - Each year, naturalization ceremonies take place across the United States where more than a half-million legal immigrants raise their hands to take the Oath of Allegiance.

The oath goes like this: “I hereby declare...that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America…so help me, God..."

New American citizens are keenly aware of the privileges and responsibilities that Americans enjoy.

One new citizen declared, “It's, it's really beautiful, a great day for me. I can't describe how much… how much I'm happy.”

“America is the land of freedom,” said another. “That's what it means to me. Ain’t no better word to express it than freedom.”

The Statue of Liberty stands as a constant reminder that America is a nation of immigrants. A nation that, since its founding, has welcomed 70 million legal immigrants to its shores, more than any other nation in the world.

For two centuries immigrants have fled famine, poverty, and persecution in their homelands, seeking freedom and opportunity in America, the refuge that Abraham Lincoln called the "last best hope of Earth."

"It is the last best hope,” echoed former Reagan education secretary and drug czar, Bill Bennett.
“It is the first best hope of people everywhere in the world. Not just the poor. Not just the huddled masses. But also the wealthy, the affluent, the talented."

Bennett has written a book about that hope. Despite a chorus of anti-American critics, he says
that the unending flood of immigrants sends a clear message.

"If you ever raise the gates on East Germany, people run out,” said Bennett. “If you did on North Korea, they run south. If you raise the gates on the United States, people run in. If you don't raise the gates, people still run in…There must be something right we're doing here, because this is the most sought-after place in the world, where people want to come if they are free to choose where to go."

Ali Alyami chose America 37 years ago as an immigrant from Saudi Arabia.

"I was born again,” said Alyami. “It's like my first day ever on this Earth…when I put my feet in this country."

Alyami says that the freedom he found in America was in sharp contrast to the government control he knew back home.

"That's the first thing that struck me. I didn't see any police,” he recalled. “I didn't see any secret police. I didn't see any religious police—just people going about their lives. Saudi Arabia has no, absolutely no freedom of expression, no freedom of press, no freedom of assembly, no freedom of civil society, no religious freedom, nothing."

Now a U.S. citizen living in Washington, D.C. and with a son serving in the U.S. Army, Alyami advocates for civil rights for Saudi citizens at The Center for Democracy and Human Rights in Saudi Arabia. This simple act of free speech would be a life or death offense in Saudi Arabia.

"I probably would have been in jail. I probably would have gotten killed because I would have continued. The older I got when I was talking about this issue, the more I become outspoken, and less tolerant of injustice in Saudi Arabia," Alyami said.

Alyami is outspoken about the treatment of women and minorities. Unlike America, he says Saudi women are essentially slaves, excluded from public life.

"They are totally dependent on men for food, for driving,” he said. “They cannot drive. For permission to travel anywhere, even to buy. For a Saudi woman to buy a chip for her cell phone, or phone service, she has to go through a male relative."

And Alyami sees no comparison between American and Saudi justice.

"They have beheadings every Friday,” Alyami said, “almost every other Friday. For what crimes? Anything—drugs. If you are a drug trafficker, you get beheaded…you are guilty. You are guilty until proven innocent, just the opposite of here."

He added, "The American justice system is best in the whole world."

When Getaneh Getaneh (Editor’s note: has same first and last name) was 40 years old, he came to America from Ethiopia to escape religious persecution. He was imprisoned five times there for speaking against Islam and practicing the Christian faith.

"As soon as I go back home, I will end up dead,” he said. “And for that reason, I need to hide here. I need to ask that asylum, that freedom. I don't have any choice."

Government soldiers killed Getaneh's father and cousin for their political views. Getaneh witnessed soldiers kill three of his friends at a riverside baptism.

"They asked them to deny Jesus, and they said, ‘No, we are not denying Jesus,’” Getaneh explained. “And they would not turn back to Islam and they got killed."

Getaneh was arrested, questioned, and tortured for days. His thumb was nearly severed when soldiers tied it off with a wire.

"And they took me to prison and they hung me upside down and they poured boiling oil over my feet,” he said.

He added, "You know it's painful, to tell you the truth. When a splash of oil, when you fry something it touch your body…I am not lying about that. I was terrified and asked God to take me home."

Getaneh survived, escaped, and for 13 years now has sought American citizenship along with his wife, appreciating each day of freedom and taking nothing for granted.

"We don't have that freedom in Ethiopia,” he said. “They say we have freedom, but the freedom we have is not protected by the government…The main thing I tell them, just don't abuse your freedom. The liberty you have in this country, somebody paid a price. And use it for good…You can never understand the meaning of freedom and liberty and democracy unless you have tried something else."

"With all the imperfections, and there are lots of them,” he said, “this country remains the beacon of freedom for the whole world."

"Most human history is pretty ugly,” Bennett remarked. “Most people didn't live in freedom. Most people weren't allowed to worship the way they wanted. Most were subject to the whims of dictators, conquerors, oppressors. So in the largest context of inhumanity and misery, the American achievement, despite its faults and blemishes, is high and unique. It is unparalleled."

Bennett spoke about God’s purpose for America and the image of hope it provides to people around the world.

"It's a great romance,” he said. “A story born in the minds of a few guys, a belief that this is God's plan, that we are a city on a hill. And it's worked. It's not only a place where people have dreams, it's a place where dreams come true."

Land of Hope and Fulfilled Dreams (http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/usnews/060704a.aspx?option=print)