Happy Independence Day, everyone!

July 01, 2011 | By PACIFIC LEGAL FOUNDATION

Author: Timothy Sandefur

The Pacific Legal Foundation would like to wish all its supporters and friends a very happy Independence Day holiday. This is the time of year American set aside to remember the principles upon which our nation was founded—principles PLF fights for every day, both in and out of court: liberty, justice, and equal treatment before the law.

We believe, as our forebears did, that all people everywhere and at all times are entitled to freedom—not as a gift from our rulers, but as our birthright, because we are human beings—and that we deserve to live in society where we are free to pursue happiness; to work hard and keep the fruits of our labors; to enjoy the security of equal laws that treat us as equal persons and not as members of one or another racial classification; that sets the groundwork of freedom and security as the only solid foundation for innovation, prosperity, spiritual fulfillment, and human happiness.

We do not place our faith in allegedly expert public officials who will dictate to us how we ought to live our lives. We place our confidence in individuals, to make their choices, reap their rewards, learn from their mistakes, and raise up another generation with the opportunity to make the world even better than it was for them. And we know from our history that this is not an idle or sentimental faith, but one which has time and again proven itself the only sure basis for a flourishing society.

It’s easy sometimes to feel downhearted about the future of liberty. But when we reflect on the progress we have made, and the resources at our disposal—not to mention the fatal intellectual weaknesses at the core of those ideologies opposed to private property, racial equality, and economic liberty—well, we can’t help but feel that we need only make the commitment and we will prevail. Have a happy Independence Day—and please join us in helping to make America freer in the years to come.