Resolve . . . that this nation

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years ago, our fathers brought forth upon this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal

That is what we are celebrating today. Is it strange that on this Independence Day that the title and lead quote for this diary should come from Lincoln's Gettysburg Address? . After all, this is the day of celebration for that other document, The Declaration of Independence.

Follow me below the fold and we'll see why this is not strange at all.

Where did Lincoln get the inspiration for the phrase "conceived in liberty"? Well, from none other than here:

they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness

"And dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal"? Here again:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal

So, why is all this really relevant today? Because of these phrases:

testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated. . . can long endure. ... we here highly resolve . . . that this nation, . . . and that government of the people. . .by the people. . .for the people. . . shall not perish from the earth.

For we are constantly engaged in a struggle to ensure

that government of the people. . .by the people. . .for the people. . . shall not perish from the earth.

This is no more true on any other day than today. Are all men still created equal? Not when amnesty for Scooter Libby shows that some are more equal than others. It is no more true on any other day than today, when our leaders abandon Habeus Corpus and assert their right to illegal wiretapping of American citizens.

We are , each of us here engaged in a great struggle

testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated . . . can long endure

so I ask each of you here to join me to

highly resolve . . . that this nation, . . . and that government of the people. . .by the people. . .for the people. . . shall not perish from the earth.