Messmer Column: Happy Independence Day

Local Sources: In this weeks column, State Senator Mark Messmer (R-Jasper) wishes everyone a Happy Independence Day.

On Monday, we will once again celebrate the founding of our great nation. As you gather with family and friends for barbecues and fireworks, I encourage you to reflect on the birth of America and how far we've come.

Before the Continental Congress of 1776 and the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, colonists held annual celebrations honoring the king's birthday, which included bonfires, procession and the ringing of bells. Now, more than 200 years later, we celebrate not a monarch's birthday, but rather, a government run by the people.

Since our country's founding, our republic has persevered through economic downturns, wars overseas and domestic, natural disasters and disagreements between states. 

In his 1986 Independence Day address to the nation, Ronald Reagan said, "America's past of which we're so proud, our hopes and aspirations for the future of the world and this much-loved country -- these things far outweigh what little divides us. And so tonight we reaffirm that Jew and gentile, we are one nation under God; that black and white, we are one nation indivisible; that Republican and Democrat, we are all Americans. Tonight, with heart and hand, through whatever trial and travail, we pledge ourselves to each other and to the cause of human freedom, the cause that has given light to this land and hope to the world."

Let us adhere to President Reagan's words. The unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, as written in the Declaration of Independence, make up the roots of our nation and unite each and every one of us as Americans.

We must continue to learn from our past and remain vigilant in preserving our future. Americans throughout history have answered the call to protect our freedoms, enabling us to be the great nation we are today. It's important for us to remember that this responsibility is now in our hands.

I wish you all a very happy Independence Day!