Howdy neighbor! Of all the announcements which I’ve ever made here, all the anniversaries ever memorialized in this column — and I dare say ever in this paper, for all its honorable 156 years — none are so important, none so momentous to all concerned as that glorious day which is now ours to witness; when on Saturday we mark the occasion of the 250th anniversary of our nation’s birth.
Our coming Fourth of July, in this our modern 21st century, year of our Lord 2026, marks a quarter millennium of American freedom: an achievement which must necessarily rank among the highest successes in history’s annals. For our glorious Revolution was a singular departure from all of world history to date; it marked the birth of a nation founded on freedom, liberty, and self-determination, and since America is not quite like any other nation before or since, neither then is that holiday we make of our birth. We mark not the coronation of a king, the founding of an empire, the subjugation of any realm. We do not celebrate the raising of one man, or one class of men above our heads; rather America recalls its own freedom, whose light ennobles us all — and after 250 years now I feel it is more important than ever to remember this.
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