By Sen. Matt Pouliot

On Tuesday, July 4, our nation will celebrate 247 years in pursuing the prosperity of the great “American experiment.” As we all look forward to a day of celebration, relaxation, great food and the company of others, we should also take a moment to remember what this day of freedom means.

Hello, I am Senator Matt Pouliot of Kennebec County and it is my pleasure to join you for our Republican Radio Address in celebrating Independence Day.

The rights laid out directly in our Declaration of Independence were adopted on July 4, 1776, by the 56 delegates of Second Congressional Congress in the Pennsylvania Statehouse in Philadelphia – we would later call that building Independence Hall. When those delegates who represented the 13 original colonies put their name on that document, they knew they were putting their lives on the line by declaring our independence from the crown of England.

Our country’s founders held that because all people were created equal, the rights of “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” were inalienable and their truths were self-evident. More importantly, they recognized that when “…any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it.”

What they essentially said is the rights and freedoms of all Americans, since established and granted to us by birthright through that document as well as our U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights, were worth fighting for then and still are today.

In doing a little research about what freedom means, I came across a great quote. It comes from the late Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis, the namesake of Brandeis University in Massachusetts who served on the high court until just before World War II, a war that threatened the entire world’s freedom. He said, “Those who won our independence … valued liberty as an end and as a means. They believed liberty to be the secret of happiness and courage to be the secret of liberty.”

Another quote I found really typifies the idea behind the “American experiment” in that we are all created equal and have the freedom to pursue our own destiny. It comes from former Secretary of State Dr. Condoleezza Rice, who served our nation under President George W. Bush.

She said, “The essence of America – that which really unites us – it not ethnicity, or nationality, or religion. It is an idea – and what an idea it is: that you can come from humble circumstances and do great things. That it doesn’t matter where you came from, but where you are going.”

And the last one I’ll share comes from none other than Nelson Mandela, a great man who truly represented what liberty means after being imprisoned for 27 years in his pursuit of freedom from the oppression of apartheid in South Africa. He harbored no ill will or resentment after his release in 1990 and went on to win a Nobel Peace Prize and serve as South Africa’s first elected president under the country’s new Constitution in 1994.

In his book “Long Walk to Freedom,” he humbly said, “For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”

How inspiring. How selfless.

This Independence Day, we should remember why we declared independence in the first place – oppression, taxation without representation and repeated injustices against the colonies by a distant king. Most importantly, we should remember the cost of that independence and the rights we enjoy today.

Over our 247 years of existence, 1.4 million Americans have fought and died and millions more have served in our military to protect our liberty. We honor them on this day of freedom. And we should appreciate that it is up to all of us to protect that freedom, not just for ourselves but for the sake of all Americans.

Again, I’m Senator Matt Pouliot of Kennebec County and I encourage you to display our beautiful flag, gather with friends and family, see a parade and, if you have animals, make sure they are safe and secure if they scare easily from fireworks. Most importantly, enjoy a safe and happy Fourth of July weekend in our beautiful State of Maine.

Senator Matt Pouliot represents the Kennebec County communities of District 15. He is the Senate Republican Lead for the Legislature’s Labor and Housing Committee and the Select Committee on Housing.