Happy 4th of July!

The 4th of July is a holiday which celebrates our country's independence from the British rule. Although the war lasted a long time, we chose July 4th as a significant date, as this is the day that the Declaration of Independence was adopted by the Second Continental Congress.

One of the things that inflamed us then was taxation without representation. We felt it was terribly unfair that a distant government was able to impose taxes without our input into the matter.

Sound familiar?

If anyone is rolling in their graves right now, it's our founding fathers, and they're whirling dervishes.

Our country has grown woefully away from the message of the founding fathers, which was basically that government needed to be minimal and relatively weak. Over the years we've evolved into something monstrous and almost Orwellian. It's only a few more steps to Big Brother.

So America parties and celebrates, paying no attention to the man behind the curtain. We have gone from being passionately involved in politics to being distracted from it.

Voter turnout for Presidential elections continues to decline. The educated voter knows know that ultimately the electoral college is really the only force that decides upon our Presidents. After all, the possibility of faithless electors is always present! And the uneducated voter is more worried about voting on American Idol.

I no longer know if American is politically self-aware: We'll know more when the next Presidential election comes. But I'm hopeful that this 4th of July will still be one of many Independence Days, and that we won't forget where we've come from or where we should be headed.

Happy 4th of July!