The United States of America celebrates its 250^th birthday on July 4, 2026.  It is interesting that we celebrate the birth of our country on July 4^th.

On July 2, 1776, the 13 colonies under British rule voted to separate from the British crown.  The Declaration of Independence was officially adopted on July 4, 1776.

I say it is interesting that we celebrate this as a birthday because it was a day in which the colonies declared secession.  That is what independence meant.  It was a secessionist movement.  When people today talk about secession, it is often called unpatriotic, yet that is exactly what the American colonists did.

Some will argue that the American secession was different because it was a secession from a king.  Today, we live in a “democracy” (which is actually supposed to be a constitutional republic).

But it is hard to believe that the colonists wouldn’t have tried to secede if only they had the right to vote.  It is an issue with tyranny.  And while there was certainly tyranny coming from the British crown, we have our own share of it today.  If you look at the economic picture, the British tyranny of 1776 was almost nothing as compared to today.

The government at all levels consumes something like 40% of our earnings today.  In the American colonies, the British crown collected somewhere in the neighborhood of 1%.

But the really interesting part of the American birthday celebration is that it is based on the Declaration of Independence.  It isn’t based on when the war was won or when the war ended.  It wasn’t based on when Britain formally recognized the colonies as independent states.  The colonists declared independence on July 4^th, but the actual independence came later.

Our Liberty and Our Tyranny

I have mixed emotions about July 4^th and the celebrations that go with it.

For part of me, the cranky libertarian comes out asking why all of these people are ignorantly celebrating our freedom when we have so much tyranny.  Are these people celebrating paying 35 to 40 percent of their earnings (directly and indirectly) towards government when the British collected about 1% from the colonists?  Bring me back to 1776 with today’s technology.

Are they celebrating the American empire that has military presence in the majority of countries on the planet?  Are they celebrating the NSA spying on us?  Are they celebrating the wars and bombings in other countries?  Are they celebrating our government-run schools?

On the other hand, there is the more generous view of Americans.  I can appreciate that we do celebrate a day of secession even if many people don’t exactly recognize it as such.

I can also appreciate that there is still a certain American spirit that hasn’t died.  Americans are still quite individualistic as compared to much of the rest of the world.  Americans will dance to the beat of their own drum and generally insist that they have a right to do so.  There is a certain lack of obedience to authority.

There are a lot of problems in America with crime, drugs, homelessness, and a somewhat tyrannical government.  But in spite of all that, there is much to celebrate.  Americans, for the most part, are quite charitable.  We still have an economy where entrepreneurship is celebrated, and it is acceptable to make money in exchange for helping others.  This should not be ignored.

When politicians do bad things, they don’t generally announce they are doing bad things.  They try to get the support of the American people by appealing to their humanity.  They can only get away with welfare and warfare by doing it in the name of helping people, even if it isn’t true.

Celebrate

While I may gripe a little and point out the great liberty that we have lost, I will still celebrate on July 4^th.  You probably won’t sell a message of liberty by being a crank and ruining a good time for others.

There is much to celebrate.  We live in a good time even though it could be a lot better.  We can celebrate looking forward to a time of greater liberty in the future.