Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., issued the

following Independence Day statement and greetings to the people of West

Virginia:

"On Friday, July 4th , the United States will conduct the 233nd

celebration of Independence Day. On this day, we commemorate the signing

of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. Flags will fly and rousing

music will be heard before the faint whiff of gunpowder and thunderous

boom of fireworks reminds us of the great struggle that took place to

set our nation upon its course through history."

"Amid all the parades, fireworks, and backyard barbecues, it is

worthwhile to consider the document itself. The Declaration of

Independence is an amazing and powerful manuscript. Phrases in its

opening paragraphs are familiar to most Americans: '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 line may

well be the most recognizable sentence in American political history. It

is certainly among the top ten."

"As famous as the phrase, 'Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness,'

is, however, it is not the first sentence of the Declaration. The lead

sentence reads: 'When in the Course of human events, it becomes

necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have

connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth,

the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of

Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind

requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the

separation.' This sentence sets the stage for the body of the

Declaration, which lists in some detail the abuses of power that drove

the Founders to a war of secession."

"Unlike the philosophical goals of life, liberty and happiness, which

Americans today readily understand and revere, the complaints listed in

the Declaration rarely fire the popular imagination. But they should.

The abuses of the King listed in the Declaration are the very issues

that the Constitution strives to prevent. They are the issues that the

Bill of Rights specifically protects us against. They are issues, and

battles, still being fought today, as the recent debates and court

actions over the rights of detainees and the Foreign Intelligence

Surveillance Act, or FISA, demonstrate."

"Reading the list of the Colonists' grievances paints a vivid picture of

life in those times. One can readily imagine the frustrations of a

people trying to build a working society, ruled by laws, that welcomes

new settlers and that promotes trade and commerce, but is continually

set back by contempt and indifference. The colonies' governments are

dissolved or are forced to meet in out-of-the-way, uncomfortable places

or at times that discourage part-time legislators from attending. Laws

are arbitrarily suspended until the King can rule on them, but he never

does provide a ruling. New courts cannot be established unless the King

thousands of miles and months of travel away, will agree to them. Judges

depend on the King's favor for their jobs and their salaries, so they

rarely rule against him, anyway. New taxes and new rules from Britain

are continually imposed upon the colonists, from stamp taxes to tea

taxes, and their complaints about them are met with silence or violence.

Large armies are camped among the colonies and take what they demand

from the colonists, but they are immune from prosecution for any wrongs

they commit. Mercenaries are brought in, and colonists are seized and

forced into military service on behalf of the King."

"The colonists complain, but the King does not care. The Declaration

concludes, therefore, 'A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every

act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free

people.' In the Constitution to come, the Founding Fathers will design a

government that limits the power of the executive in order to prevent

tyranny by one man, and will protect the rights of the individual

against the state. Courts will be independent, and taxes must be levied

only by the representatives of the people."

"Our government was expressly designed to prevent anyone from having to

live under the same conditions suffered by the colonists. As Thomas

Jefferson wrote, 'In questions of power then, let no more be heard of

confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the

Constitution.'"

"Ultimately, the colonists declared in their Declaration of Independence

that '…these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and

Independent States…Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown…'

and held Britain, '…as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in

Peace Friends.'"

"On this Independence Day, the current generation can look back upon

those strong, resolute words with pride and gratitude. We would do well

to remember the abuses that finally compelled our Founding Fathers to

declare war, so that we never let the freedoms that were won for us to

be lost. Remember the words of John Adams, who warned that, 'The jaws of

power are always open to devour, and her arm is always stretched out, if

possible, to destroy freedom of thinking, speaking, and writing.' He

further wrote, 'Be not intimidated…nor suffer yourselves to be wheedled

out of your liberties by any pretense of politeness, delicacy, or

decency. These, as they are often used, are but three different names

for hypocrisy, chicanery and cowardice.' Those are the words of

experience, speaking across the ages. This Independence Day, we best

honor our legacy by caring for it with the same passion and vigilance

that John Adams did.