Today, the fourth day of July, Anno Domini 2018, is the two-hundred-forty-second anniversary of the promulgation of the Declaration of Independence, the founding document of the United States of America which represents its birth as a sovereign nation, separate from and independent of America's colonial mother country, Great Britain. The Declaration's simple statement of the ideals of representative democracy, the economic and political rights of the individual, and the rule of law, is one of the most eloquent founding documents in the history of mankind. Despite our sometimes petty politics and squabbles, today should be a day when Americans remember our Founders and recommit ourselves to living their ideals of political and economic freedom in the present day.

Cheers to our friends in Europe, South America, Africa and Asia -- please raise a glass in celebration.



Happy Independence Day, y'all.