The Meaning of Independence Day

This weekend, we will once again celebrate the birth of the greatest free society this world has ever known:  the United States of America.  Every day, we in America enjoy a level of freedom that is unprecedented in human history.  Protesters in Iran have risked their lives for a taste of the freedom that seems so routine to us.

We call July 4 our “Independence Day.”  With that in mind, we should consider what exactly our forefathers fought and died to gain independence from.

“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.”
- Ronald Reagan

“They who would give up an essential liberty for temporary security, deserve neither liberty or security.”
- Benjamin Franklin

“History does not long entrust the care of freedom to the weak or the timid.”
- Dwight D. Eisenhower

I found this via Twitter today:  a group called American Majority is holding an activist training in Raleigh on Saturday, August 8, 2009.

According to their Web site, topics to be covered include:  Building Coalitions, Reaching Your Community, and Organizing Meaningful Events; Holding Your Elected Officials Accountable; Getting Involved in State and Local Political Campaigns; New Media: Opinion Editorials, Blogs, Wikipedia Projects and more.

While I am not familiar with this organization, the training might be worth checking out.  You can find registration information here.

Former NC State Auditor Les Merritt has teamed up with former FBI agent Frank Perry to launch a new non-profit, non-partisan organization to expose public corruption and educate public officials on ethics-related issues.

The organization is called the Foundation for Ethics in Public Service, and their Web site is ReportPublicCorruption.org.  The organization also has a Facebook page and a Twitter account.

Members of the Brunswick County Republican Party executive committee selected Frank Iler, immediate past chairman of the county GOP, to replace Representative Bonner Stiller at a meeting tonight.  Stiller recently resigned his post, and his resignation was effective yesterday.

Iler received 25 votes compared to 10 for Shirley Babson, Chairman of the Brunswick County Board of Education.

Iler was nominated by County Commissioner Marty Cooke, while Babson was nominated by Ted Bodenschatz.

Three representatives from the N.C. Republican Party attended the meeting, which was chaired by NCGOP Legal Counsel Phil Strach of Wake County.

The events unfolding in Iran provide President Obama with a golden opportunity to make a clear, bold statement on behalf of freedom and liberty.

Consider the following:

Voter Fraud: Public results show incumbent president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad winning by a solid margin.  However, other reports indicate that challenger Mir Hossein Mousavi received far more votes than Ahmadinejad.  The day after the election Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who is regarded as the most powerful figure in Iran, called for the nation to unite around Ahmadinejad; he has now reversed his position and called for an investigation into voter fraud allegations.   Iranian citizens are risking their lives by publicly protesting the result of the election.