We are reminded every year as the Fourth of July draws near that Independence Day is about more than just fireworks and cookouts in the backyard. It’s a time to consider the principles that founded our country and still influence it today: liberty, opportunity, and the conviction that a brighter future is always possible.
We celebrate the nation that our Founding Fathers established on this Independence Day, one that is based on the conviction that freedom, justice, and self-determination are worthy of being fought for. Their proclamation went beyond simply rejecting a far-off monarchy. It was a proclamation of a new kind of government in which the people hold the authority.
We honor not only the founders but also the enduring power of the nation they established when we get together with loved ones. It is what created the American dream, what keeps Kentucky towns going every day, and it is still standing, still trying, and still led by the principles that illuminated the way to freedom.
We witness it in the young families striving to provide their kids with more than they had, in the entrepreneurs who take chances and generate employment, and in the veterans and service members who never stop defending the liberties we cherish. What genuinely defines our nation are these modest, resolute, and optimistic daily endeavors.
Perfection has never been a promise of the American dream. It offers the flexibility to experiment, develop, and create something greater. It’s a pledge based on the idea that our future is flexible. One choice at a time, each generation shapes our future.
We take pride in that role here in Kentucky. Our Commonwealth has always stood up for that pledge, from the historic grounds of Camp Taylor to the current missions at Fort Campbell and Fort Knox. Respecting that heritage entails more than just reflecting on the past; it also entails upholding the principles that we commemorate at this time of year.
This Independence Day, when flags fly and families get together, remember what the red, white, and blue really stand for: a country that is still standing, a dream that is still alive, and people who still believe in the promise of America, both here in Kentucky and across the nation.
Northern Kenton County is part of Kentucky’s 23rd Senate District, which is represented by Senator Chris McDaniel.