When the Continental Congress adopted its “Declaration of Independence,” officially published on July 4, 1776, there were reasons — reasons laid out in detail in that very same declaration.

King George III, the founders of “the United States of America” said, obstructed immigration.

He kept standing armies in times of peace.

He sent out “swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.”

He restricted foreign trade.

He imposed taxes without their consent.

And so on, and so forth.

And by golly, when a government became destructive of the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, as the King of England had, the people had a right to “alter or abolish it.”

Fast-forward 250 years. The current US government obstructs immigration, keeps standing armies in times of peace, employs more, and more meddlesome, bureaucrats than George III might have ever dreamed possible, restricts foreign trade, and imposes an average tax burden about 16 times as large as that the American colonists moaned about.

The colonists declared independence from Britain.

Today’s America is built a very different proposition, best summarized by Benito Mussolini in the early 20th century to define his philosophy, fascism: “All within the state, nothing outside the state, nothing against the state.”

Today’s America is built on dependence, not independence.

The average American is born in a government-regulated hospital, issued a government birth certificate, assigned a government identification number, shipped off as early as possible to government-regulated schools, graciously allowed by government to work in government-regulated businesses (if his or her government papers are found to be in order), retires on a government pension, and is eventually buried or cremated in accordance with government regulations.

And, of course, every Fourth of July, he or she dutifully waves a piece of cloth representing that government, cries tears of gratitude for the brave government employees who defend his or her “freedom,” and perhaps — if, and only if, the government allows it — enjoys some fireworks.

I used to find the differences between the Declaration and modern reality horrifying enough to title my Independence Day columns “Mourn on the Fourth of July.”

That horror, however, has faded to boredom over time.  America today feels a lot like the pictures of those gray old Soviet housing blocs — brutalist in architecture and only semi-functional in  construction — and I’ve reached a new stage: “Meh on the Fourth of July.”

Enjoy your holiday weekend, fellow serfs.

Thomas L. Knapp (X: @thomaslknapp | Bluesky: @knappster.bsky.social | Mastodon: @knappster) is director and senior news analyst at the William Lloyd Garrison Center for Libertarian Advocacy Journalism (thegarrisoncenter.org). He lives and works in north central Florida.

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