Maybe...

Maybe the most important thing I can do is share the truth as I see it, as honestly as I can. I am not divine. I have no secret knowledge, no conduit to universal truth. I have no wisdom other than that developed through trial and error, and oh by the way, we're talking a hell of a lot of error.

Tuesday will mark 241 Earthly orbits around Sol since that day in Philadelphia.

We, therefore,... appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States.

Why did we part company with Great Britain?

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

The elected representatives of the people of this new nation listed more than thirty causes for separation. They also explained why the King's behavior was fundamentally wrong, and declared that henceforth, in the new United States of America, the sovereignty of the individual would reign supreme.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.

Fifty-six representatives signed the Declaration of Independence.

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.

Nine of those fellows died in the war. A number were captured, jailed and tortured. Many lost their homes and property. The signers didn't just publish a mission statement and go home to watch television. They actually walked the walk.

I wonder how many of my fellow Americans actually believe that bullshit about all men being created equal. When I ask the question, everyone says, "Yeah-yeah-yeah. Of course."

But I honestly can't remember anyone not appending a "yabbut." Maybe some didn't. I just don't remember any.

Sometimes I append a "yabbut." And it always makes me feel sick and awful and slimy and terrible. When this happens to me I cannot feel better until I do the tough heart- and head-work required to get back to that place where the simple, self-evident truth of reality bathes me in the warm sunlight of the spirit of humanity.

I believe that all men are created equal and endowed by their creator with unalienable rights. I believe that all men are just like me, neither good nor bad, filled with both darkness and light, and always a single, freely arrived at choice away from doing great good or great evil. I believe that I understand at least a little bit of the true nature and character of Philadelphia. I believe that every single human can access these self-evident truths. It's a choice. As Master Yoda put it, "Do, or do not."

Buncha crystal-grippin' bullshit? Yeah. Fuck. Maybe.

Maybe.