What are we celebrating this week?

It's the Fourth of July, Independence Day, and never has our nation been so fundamentally divided. Though the Revolutionary War began among the British occupants of her majesty's 13 colonies in 1775, the origins of the American ideal of freedom, of liberty, can be traced to July 4, 1776, with the ratification of the Declaration of Independence.

The Revolutionary War was fought because American colonists sought independence from British rule due to a combination of political, economic, and social grievances. Taxation without representation, restrictions on trade and a growing sense of American identity separate from Britain.

Before and during the American Revolution, a Patriot was a colonist who supported independence from Great Britain. They believed the British government was oppressive and wanted to establish a new independent nation.

Tories held fast to the laws of the time, the status quo. They were here in this new land at the benevolence of the crown, and to crown and king they owed allegiance.

The United States didn't win independence until the Treaty of Paris, signed September 3, 1783, wherein Britain acknowledged the sovereignty of the United States of America, formally ending the war.

So why do we celebrate July 4 as Independence Day, seven years and a few days earlier than the actual day of our independence?

Because in that document, the Declaration of Independence, liberty was defined: "All men are created equal and endowed with certain unalienable rights, including "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

Those words begat a document ratified June 21, 1778, the U.S. Constitution.

Today, we have a president inimical to those who served our union or we the people. We have elected miscreants incapable of serving the public trust and today we pay the price.

Today we hand Donald John Trump his crown. His "Big Beautiful Bill." Instead of handing a lying con-man a solid repudiation, we hand him the keys to the kingdom.

July 4, 2025 ... how do you define patriotism? Only some men are equal? Only some can speak? Our best and brightest are Donnie J. Trump and his mindless sycophants Pete Hegseth, Pam Bondi, et al?

We have a choice this year. Our Republicans have already made the wrong choice. May they be able to live with their betrayal.