4th of July Message from the Durant Children

Fellow patriots, happy Independence Day!

Our dad usually writes the weekly message, but this morning, it’s from the kids.

Today is the day when all Americans celebrate the passions and principles that led our forefathers to declare independence from Britain. It is the same passion for the principle of individual freedom that should drive us today.

We wanted to share our family’s “4th of July” tradition with you. Since we were old enough to read, we have sat down as a family and read the Declaration of Independence together. We take turns reading aloud, with each person reading one sentence. We each have a grievance that we find most outrageous, among them:

“HE has erected a Multitude of new Offices, and sent hither Swarms of Officers to harrass our People, and eat out their Substance”

“HE has combined with others to subject us to a Jurisdiction foreign to our Constitution, and unacknowledged by our Laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation”

“FOR imposing Taxes on us without our Consent”

Some of the grievances are specific to the 1700s, but others resonate with us today. Reading the Declaration together is a great way to meditate on the abuses of tyrants, and the responsibilities of a free people to institute self-government.

It’s also worthwhile to read the names of the 56 signers, most of whom are unfamiliar to us today (e.g., William Whipple, Caesar Rodney, Francis Lightfoot Lee). Who were these men, brave enough to stand up to a tyrant? We honor them today…and may we honor them by our own brave actions.

Happy 4th from the Durant family kids,

Hope, Maggie, Clark (the Younger), and John

p.s. The Library of Congress has its copy of the Declaration here.

You can read the rest of this article at: http://www.clarkdurant.com/2012/07/04/4th-of-july-message-from-the-durant-children/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=4th-of-july-message-from-the-durant-children