This Independence Day —Liberty or Death
Today, Ukraine burns. America appeases. It seems that our leaders have forgotten the meaning of Independence Day, but we have not.
Today, we celebrate the birth of a nation conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition 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.”
If, like me, you are grieved by American foreign policy in 2025, then celebrate with greater fervor. You are not honoring the horror of the moment, but the brilliant legacy of our founding—a living reality obscured for a time, but not forever. You are celebrating a timeless commitment to law and liberty that transcends any president. You are celebrating an America at her best, not her worst. You are reminding the world of the hope of the future if we defend the propositional truths which gave us 250 years of freedom.
"Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!" Patrick Henry, 1775
Independence Day reminds us of an America who stands with the oppressed. It is an America who believes that values cannot be bartered for transactional opportunities. It is an America made up of immigrants who embraced our laws and love of liberty, sacrificing much to pursue the American dream.
Independence Day is a stunning rebuke to those who would sacrifice freedom of our nation—and of free people across the globe—on the altar of appeasement to despots. The 4th of July declares - "Liberty or death." It is a reminder that there are causes so morally clear, that we must be willing to pledge, “our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.”
American greatness does not arise from a perfect track record—far from it. Rather, it is rooted in ideas and identity that rise above our worst moments. These ideals call us to something higher. Our freedoms are not gifts from the state or the fickle majority—they are endowed by God Himself. They are unbreakable. Worth dying for. Our identity is inseparable from our love of liberty, our hatred of tyranny, and our hope for the blessings of prosperity—for ourselves and for our posterity.
On Independence Day, if our elected leaders will not rise to the moment, let our people stand in solidarity with our spiritual brothers and sisters in Ukraine—who are now fighting an existential battle for heir freedom against a tyrannical foe. Ukraine echoes our words “Liberty or death.” We must echo them back to her.
I conclude with Founding Father John Adams, in a letter to his wife Abigail on the eve of independence:
“The Day of July 1776 will be the most memorable Epocha in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shows, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires, and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other, from this Time forward forevermore.”
Happy Independence Day.
— DW Phillips
DW Phillips is a filmmaker, journalist and attorney.
I really needed to read this today. I am crying for my country and I am committed to the fight for it.
@DW Phillips: Thank you.
Musical coda: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PvN98giKgc/