Independence Day reminds us freedom is tied to votes and values
Pandemics. Division. Political strife. This Independence Day is certainly unlike any most of us have witnessed in our lifetimes, but we can take comfort in the knowledge that the United States has been here before.
God has guided our nation through times like this in our past. The Civil War. The 1918 Pandemic. The Great Depression. The civil and political unrest of 1968. Each time, our nation turned to God, and each time He has brought us to the other side, often seeing times of tremendous blessing after times of strife.
I take comfort in reflecting on all those who have sacrificed for our country in our 244 years — servicemen and women, patriots, and concerned citizens, including our Founders, who made their immortal pledge on July 4, 1776:
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And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.
As we take time to reflect on the fragile gift of freedom we enjoy, I am reminded of the words of Ronald Reagan:
Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.
Today our freedom is threatened by forces internal, not merely external. The endurance of our freedom that was so hard-earned requires our vigilance like never before — in the form of rational, informed votes.
The actions of governors who sought to safely open their state as we initially flattened the COVID-19 curve, or who pressed hard for longer lockdowns, were elected by you. The mayors that allowed riots to proceed as a "protest," or who supported the police, or who maintained law and order — each one was elected by you.
The people of the United States are four months away from either safeguarding their freedom or moving it closer to extinction. Voters need reliable, values-informed information in order to choose candidates who will craft and enforce the legislation necessary to safeguard freedom. And as this election season proceeds up to a critical election on November 3, think about the role you want to play in America’s story. It’s up to you to decide what America will look like by our nation’s next birthday.
In the 1770s, the patriots scattered among the 13 colonies relied on Committees of Correspondence to educate them on the latest threats to their cause of liberty — including which officials to count as friend or foe. These committees were the lifeblood of the patriots’ decision-making process. Reliable information translated into a common cause and shared values.
It's time for freedom-loving Americans to follow the patriots’ example. To keep ourselves free, we must keep ourselves informed.
Debbie Wuthnow is the president of iVoterGuide and a member of the Board of Directors. She joined iVoterGuide in 2011 as a data analyst and was named president in 2018. Since assuming a leadership role, she led the organization to grow from 12 to 40 partners and to reach over 1 million voters nationwide in 2018. iVoterGuide has researched over 24,000 candidates in more than 11,000 races and offers sample ballots, voting information and candidate evaluations. From election dates to voter registration deadlines and polling locations, iVoterGuide has resources to help turn out 2.2 million voters across all 50 states in the 2020 primary and general elections in order to restore the principles of limited government, free enterprise and traditional American values. Learn more at ivoterguide.com.
