WE hold these Truths to be self-evident

On the Fourth of July, a brief reminder of what it's all about, warmly blogged by an unashamedly overly idealist American after a morning on the beach of Hiddensee (Germany) on the Baltic shore with his husband-&-lover, proudly noted again as a bushbaby reveals what could in the same document hereinafter to be quoted be deemed tyrannical behavior necessitating removal from office (condoning libbying lobbying lying), but anyway, here some snippets to remember, to take to heart, and to ponder, followed by a couple of Fourth of July pictures from the real world.

WE hold these Truths to be self-evident [...] all Men are created equal [...] certain unalienable Rights [...] among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness [...] to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted [...] deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed [...] [One] whose Character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the Ruler of a free People.

Action of Second Continental Congress, July 4, 1776

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen United States of America

And here photos of moments when such thoughts occur to me on The Fourth of July - Those are fireworks of thought designed to light up the world and stand up against fundamentalist darkness.

And here a video Fourth Of July to make you all envious: