Reflections on the Fourth of July

Originally posted on July 21st, 2009

As a part of July 4th celebation we decided to read the Declaration of Independence. The opening statement was truly inspirational, but as we read on we found the document to be very "whiny." Some of the complaints against the British Crown were focused on broad principles of governance that were denied to the colonies, but many had the tone of anecdotal complaints with little evidence. We envisioned the 56 representatives of the colonies sharing rumors about how British soldiers treated the colonists that were written into the document as if they were widespread accounts.

We were left wondering if the complaints were widespread acts or retold stories without evidence. In our view, the Declaration of Independence would have been greatly improved by having an appendix with substantiating evidence.