Liberty

LIberty - the state of living in which one is able to choose their actions free of coercion.  In the declaration of independence, the purpose of government is clearly identified:

We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their CREATOR with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men

From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120704/OPINION01/207040310#ixzz1zf9HsImP

A good read for a momentous day in the history of liberty.

Almost every American knows the traditional story of July Fourth—the soaring idealism of the Declaration of Independence, the Continental Congress's grim pledge to defy the world's most powerful nation with their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor. But what else about revolutionary America might help us feel closer to those founders in their tricornered hats, fancy waistcoats and tight knee-breeches?

Those Americans, it turns out, had the highest per capita income in the civilized world of their time. They also paid the lowest taxes—and they were determined to keep it that way.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303561504577496620544901322.html?mod=e2tw