The 4th of July is about independence from the British empire, and how incredible it is that we live in such a diverse and complicated experiment of a country.
At the time, the idea of not having a monarchy was really wild. The idea of being able to freely talk about religion and politics was unheard of.
We take these things for granted, but they were the foundation of a new idea of a country.
And no one really knew how it was going to turn out, since a government for the people, by the people, was a really new and crazy idea in the European continent. And the entire worldview of the people who founded the country was very narrow - we know much more now than we knew then - and I hope we can use this day to reflect on what we want to make this country. Not based on what they, as people of their time, envisioned as a good country, but as we hope for today, with a broader vision of equality and independence. That we can conduct ourselves in ways that we are proud to self-govern. And celebrate our innovation in a new kind of country, not only in independence from the British government, but also in growth to the world we want it to be.
We don’t have to stop innovating a better culture. I've been around the Northern hemisphere (I'm comin' for you next, Southern Hemisphere), and the US is a place of invention and improvement. We always believe there's a better way, and we're always stepping up to try to find it.
I am proud to be part of this great experiment, and believe we can continue to build the country we want to see.
