Happy Birthday USA

On this day 244 years ago, the delegates of the 2nd Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence, formalizing our political separation from Great Britain and the establishment of the United States of America.

More importantly, this declaration set forth a lofty principle of natural rights.

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

This statement resonates in the heart of all paladins. We commit ourselves to this principle and seek to uphold it.

We acknowledge that our country has not always lived up to this ideal. This saddens us greatly. Yet we remember the many times that this country and especially its young, brave men have stood up for the principles of freedom and democracy. From the green at Lexington to the hills of Gettysburg, the beaches of Normandy, and the sands of the Middle East, Americans have fought and bled and died for liberty. For this, we thank God for the United States of America, and heartily celebrate her founding.

So in the years to come, let us do as Abraham Lincoln recommended and solemnly resolve

that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

Amen