249 years later, liberty still needs defending

The War for Independence began, officially, after 56 men gathered in Philadelphia to sign and adopt one of the most revolutionary documents in human history.

July 4, 1776, was the original “No Kings” protest. When England taxed the colonies without representation, they revolted.

“We must all hang together, or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately,” Benjamin Franklin said at the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

At the heart of the great experiment declared by George Washington is a government that exists to protect rights and not to trample them. To limit government — not to expand it.

Many revolutionaries lost their lives, homes, and families because they revolted against King George III and fought to ensure their descendants would not be subject to a king who taxed without consent and ruled through edicts rather than laws.

By “hanging together” in a shared mission of limited government, Americans resisted an overbearing government.

But without a collective desire to protect rights, Americans will experience a growing government that takes more of taxpayers’ already limited money to sustain itself. We still face that challenge in Michigan and around the country.

Our liberty was tested around 244 years after the Declaration, when Gov. Gretchen Whitmer divided Michiganders into groups of “essential” and “nonessential” workers. The people of this state were forced to wear masks, told what to buy, whom they could hug, what kind of boats they could use, and when they could visit loved ones. Michigan residents were helpless, leaving loved ones to die alone because of Whitmer’s edicts.

After Whitmer prohibited 10 million people from buying seeds, operating motorboats, and visiting friends or family, or a second home, Michiganders had an opportunity to render a judgment on her heavy-handed rule. Yet she won reelection by more than 10 percentage points, and Michigan still has 30 emergency orders the governor can use to shut down the state.

Michigan also has 16,176 administrative rules created by unelected bureaucrats that make life for residents more expensive and cumbersome. From building a house to running a business, Michigan residents will continue to have less freedom if we do not “hang together” and work to undo big government encroachment.

The Fourth of July is a time to celebrate our freedoms. But we still must prevent the government from curtailing our rights to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.