By Sen. Brad Farrin

On Friday, July 4, our nation will celebrate 249 years of 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 Brad Farrin of Somerset 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 the Second Continental 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.

It’s been nearly a decade since I retired from the Maine Air National Guard. Over the course of nearly 30 years serving my country both on active duty and through the Air National Guard, I deployed to Iraq in 2008 and the Horn of Africa in 2009.

But my service brings up an obvious question: What exactly was I fighting for? Was it just for our right to “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”? Was it the Constitution and freedoms granted to us in our Bill of Rights? Or was it more important than that?

President Ronald Reagan said in July 1987 that “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.”

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 – is 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.”

This Independence Day, we should remember the cost of our independence and the freedoms we enjoy today. Over these 249 years, 1.4 million Americans have fought and died and millions more have served in our military to gain our independence and protect our liberty. We honor them and should appreciate that with our freedom comes the right and responsibility to protect it.

Again, I’m Senator Brad Farrin of Somerset County. I encourage you to display our beautiful flag, gather with friends and family, see a parade and enjoy a safe and happy Independence Day.

Sen. Brad Farrin represents the communities of Senate District 3, which consists of communities in Somerset, Kennebec and Penobscot Counties. He is the Senate Republican Lead for the Legislature’s Transportation Committee.