Thune Celebrates America’s 250th Birthday

Click here to watch the video. WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) today delivered the following remarks on the Senate floor: Thune’s remarks below (as delivered): “Mr. President, we recently celebrated the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence – the 250th birthday of our country. “On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress formally adopted the Declaration. “The document laid out the causes which impelled the colonists’ separation from Great Britain. “But more than that, it laid out the political beliefs that would govern the new nation. “‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.’ “Unalienable rights. “Rights inherent in man, given by God. “Rights that exist before government, and that it is the job of government to protect. “Government not by divine right or military might, but by consent. “A government that represents the people, not the will to power. “A revolutionary document, Mr. President. “Pun intended. “Many of the ideas in the Declaration, of course, were not new. “It was a document built on the wisdom of the ages, on the tradition of British common law, on the inheritance of Christianity, and the colonists’ own experiment in self-government in the colonies. “Jefferson himself, writing in 1825, said of the Declaration, and I quote, ‘Neither aiming at originality of principle or sentiment, nor yet copied from any particular and previous writing, it was intended to be an expression of the American mind, and to give to that expression the proper tone and spirit called for by the occasion. All its authority rests then on the harmonizing sentiments of the day, whether expressed in conversation, in letters, printed essays, or in the elementary books of public right, as Aristotle, Cicero, Locke, Sidney, etc.’ “But while many of the ideas in the Declaration were not new, the document was nevertheless, as I said, revolutionary. “Because the Declaration marked an event essentially unique in human history. “There had been philosophical treatises laying out principles of government. “But this was not a philosophical treatise. “It was the founding of a government, of a new nation, based on philosophical principles. “A nation inaugurated not by conquest but on a set of ideas. “And what ideas, Mr. President. “All men are created equal. “Where before in the history of governments do we find that? “All men are created equal. “No one is given special dignity by nature. No man has a divine right to rule over any other. “No. “All men are created equal. “Created equal and endowed by their Creator with unalienable rights. “Rights that cannot be taken away. “Rights that are not the gift of government, but … of nature and of nature’s God. “Rights that government must defer to and defend. “Mr. President, as everyone knows, the United States is currently hosting the World Cup. “And the media has been filled with stories on how much visitors to this country are enjoying the United States. “They’re encountering the American character – generous, optimistic, big-hearted, friendly. “And they are embracing it. “And it occurs to me, Mr. President, that that American character almost unquestionably has a lot to do with our founding principles. “When you believe that all men are created equal, when you believe that they have God-given rights and dignity – well, that has consequences. “All men are created equal. “There is no class of divinely appointed rulers. “No hereditary aristocratic class. “No barrier set to prevent you from rising. “Those principles have consequences. “So I don’t think it’s surprising that Americans are generous and big-hearted and optimistic and friendly. “I think it’s the natural consequence of the principles that we espouse. “Mr. President, every Fourth of July is a day of celebration. “But this one, marking 250 years, was particularly special. “South Dakota was honored to welcome President Trump to our fireworks at Mount Rushmore – a truly spectacular event. “There’s no better place to reflect on the majesty of this great country. “It’s fitting too, though, that along with the celebrations – along with the fireworks and the parades and the hot dogs and the hamburgers – that July 4th be a day of thanksgiving. “For the Declaration of Independence and the nation it founded. “For the blessings of liberty. “And for all those who have pledged their lives to its defense, from the founding of our country to the present day. “Mr. President, Ralph Waldo Emerson, in his ‘Concord Hymn,’ referred to the opening shot of the battles of Lexington and Concord as, and I quote, ‘the shot heard round the world.’ “Well, Mr. President, if I may borrow his phrase, I think it’s fair to say that the Declaration was the statement heard round the world. “It is still – still – heard around the world, to this day. “And I pray it will be heard until the end of time. “May God bless our beloved country and keep us faithful to the principles for which we stand.”