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“Sign here please.”  How many times have you signed something without reading — or even thinking? 

In today’s day and age, it is almost second nature to us. On online forms, we click, “I have read and accept the terms” without blinking. Imagine that same situation in the hot, crowded room in Independence Hall in Philadelphia the summer of 1776. 

“Sign here please.” “Sure, what am I signing?” “Oh, just a statement saying you believe in freedom and liberty.”

Simple right? We take it for granted. We forget that on that day, the 56 individuals who stepped up to that desk, bent over, and scratched their signatures in ink on that piece of parchment were taking a bold gamble. The outcome was far from certain. To them, it meant possibly being hung. It meant putting a target on themselves and their loved ones. It meant irreversibly tying their families, fortunes, and futures to the fate of a fledging nation in its fight for independence from the greatest military power in the world at the time. Give me liberty or give me death.

There were no fireworks, no celebrations. Just a commitment to the notion that all men are created equal, and endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. 

The battle wasn’t won that day. Years of hardship, fighting, and loss of life ensued, so that the greatest opportunity ever known to mankind could be created — the democratic republic that is the United States of America.

This week, July 4th offers us a time to celebrate and to collectively remember our roots as a nation. Unlike many of the other holidays we celebrate, the Fourth of July is not divided among religion, or region, or background. While we are celebrating with different traditions, in different places, and with different families and friends, when we look up into the dark sky lit up with fireworks, we are all celebrating the same thing: in 1776, words were etched into the annals of history that affirmed our freedom as an independent nation and changed the course of history.

But July Fourth should also serve to remind us that the battle is not won. The fight is never over. 

Like a well-built house, the lasting strength of a nation comes from its foundation. Our legacy, our founding principles, our American spirit have sustained us for over two centuries. But also like a house, it takes effort and intention to maintain. The world's longest surviving written charter of government will never be broken down from the outside. If it crumbles, it will be because we allowed it to be worn away from within. 

Let us not grow too comfortable with the gift we’ve been given. Let's steward well the freedom that has come at such a high cost for so many. Let us commit to both preserving this foundation and doing our part to build upon it, continuing the American story in a way that would make those 56 bold signers proud. Reagan’s sacred charge comes to mind:

"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.”

The same clarion call that impelled those 56 early Americans to walk up to that desk and link their lives and destinies to an experiment in self-determination and liberty yet untested by the world, is issued to each one of us. The question is: will we answer the call? Will we work and sacrifice to defend the gift of freedom we’ve been given? Can we echo Patrick Henry’s ringing words, “give me liberty, or give me death?”

The parchment is waiting. The ink is ready. Sign here, please.