By Sen. Brad Farrin

On Saturday, July 4, our nation will celebrate a milestone: the 250th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence.

As we gather for parades, cookouts and fireworks, we should pause to reflect on this anniversary and our responsibility to carry America’s founding principles forward.

Hello, I am Senator Brad Farrin of Somerset County, and I am pleased to join you for this Independence Day edition of the Republican Radio Address.

Our nation’s 250th anniversary, known as the semiquincentennial, marks two and a half centuries since the Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, at what is now Independence Hall in Philadelphia.

The 56 signers represented the 13 colonies. By signing it, they defied the British Crown and risked their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor.

They declared that all people are created equal and possess unalienable rights, including “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” They also affirmed a principle that remains at the heart of the American experiment: Government derives its authority from the consent of the governed.

For 250 years, those ideals have inspired Americans to defend liberty, strengthen their communities and build a better future for their children. That is why this semiquincentennial is more than a celebration of our past. It is also a moment to consider what kind of nation we will leave to those who celebrate America’s 300th anniversary in 2076.

It has been nearly a decade since I retired from the Maine Air National Guard after 30 years of military service. I served on active duty and in the Air National Guard, deploying to Iraq in 2008 and the Horn of Africa in 2009.

That service has led me to reflect on what my fellow service members and I were defending. We were defending more than words written on parchment. We were defending the right of Americans to speak freely, worship according to their beliefs, choose their leaders, pursue opportunity and raise their families in a nation governed by laws rather than the whims of those in power.

President Ronald Reagan reminded us that freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. It must be protected and passed on to the next generation. That message continues to carry meaning during America’s 250th anniversary.

The freedoms we inherited cannot be preserved through complacency. They endure because Americans participate in their communities, understand their history, respect the rule of law, support those who serve and remain committed to the constitutional principles that unite us.

As we celebrate 250 years of independence, we honor the patriots who founded our nation and the generations who defended and strengthened it. We remember the service members who never returned home, the veterans who carried the burdens of war and the military families who sacrificed alongside them.

This Independence Day, let us celebrate our history without taking it for granted. Let us renew our commitment to the principles proclaimed in the Declaration of Independence and to the constitutional rights that generations of Americans have defended. Let us carry those principles and freedoms forward for the next generation with the courage, gratitude and sense of duty shown by those who came before us.

Again, I am Senator Brad Farrin of Somerset County. I encourage you to display our flag, gather with friends and family, attend a parade and take part in this historic celebration.

May God bless Maine, and may God continue to bless the United States of America.

Have a safe and happy Independence Day.

Sen. Brad Farrin represents 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 and a member of the Government Oversight Committee.