Every year on July 4 I read through the text of the American Declaration of Independence. I usually manage to find something I hadn’t thought about before.
It’s available in English (along with the text of the U.S. Constitution, including all amendments and notations as to which parts were changed by which amendments), as well as in bilingual facing-page Spanish-English and Arabic-English editions from the Cato Institute. (The Arabic edition is not yet on the Cato online store, but is available for the same price as the Spanish edition.)
It’s a good habit for everyone. I’ve been reading the Declaration of Independence aloud every 4th of July. It’s such a powerful document. The first paragraphs are the clearest compressed statements of libertarian political theory and strategy in print, and are so completelly modern in thinking that it should be read by everyone on this planet.
Jefferson’s First Inaugural Address is another of his fine expressions, too, but nothing can compare to the Declaration. There are at least fifty “Declarations” (and probably many more which I am unfamiliar with) which mimic the language, changing this and that to emphasize specific concerns (women’s rights, antislavery, etc., etc.) and it is understandable why the Declaration of Independence was used as the model.
As long as people yearn for freedom, the Declaration of Independence will be remembered.
Best to you,
Just Ken
http://classicalliberalism.blogspot.com/
I agree. I have read it a few times and each time I found something new. I’m not sure I’ll read it every year for the rest of my life, but it’s not a bad idea. How many languages do you plan to make it available in?