Our fundamental rights come from God

July 4 is a welcomed midsummer break. It is an opportunity for many to enjoy this holiday whether at the beach, the lake or in the backyard. Probably many of us give only a passing thought, if at all, to the significance of the day. This is our day to remember that we live in a country dedicated to respecting the rights of all.
It would serve us well, however, to remember what the founders of this nation thought was essential to a free country: faith and morals. Repeatedly, those who established this country in the 1700s wrote that a people would maintain the democracy which was being established only if they maintained faith in a Supreme Being and the morals which flowed from that faith.
George Washington wrote, “Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports.” He also wrote, “Your love of liberty, your respect for the laws, your habits of industry, and your practice of the moral and religious obligations, are amongst the strongest claims to national and individual happiness.”
Charles Carroll, the only Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independence, wrote, “Without morals, a republic cannot subsist any length of time; they therefore who are decrying the Christian religion, whose morality is so sublime and pure and which insured to the good eternal happiness, are undermining the solid foundation of morals, the best security of a free government.” 
Thomas Jefferson wrote, “God who gave us life gave us liberty. And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are of the Gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath? Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that His justice cannot sleep forever!”
The list goes on, but the founders knew that without a reliance upon God, a free government would cease. The founders wrote that our fundamental rights and dignity come from God, not from any government. They wrote in the Declaration of Independence: “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.” (emphasis mine)
They acknowledged that our fundamental rights and dignity do not come to us from our nation, but from God. We Americans should have deep gratitude that we live in a nation committed to protecting our rights and dignity, but our Founders knew that our rights do not come to us because we are citizens of this country, but because we are created by God. 
It pains me when I hear responsible people quote the above-mentioned sentence from the Declaration of Independence but leave out those critical three words: “by their Creator.” If we do not wish to acknowledge that there is a Supreme Being, or His moral instruction, then where do our rights come from? We would be left with the disturbing answer that our rights and dignity come from the government, but what the government can give, the government can take away. Without God, our rights and dignity are based upon a foundation made of sand.
Our founders realized that a free people must have the foundation which comes from acknowledging our Creator and abiding by the moral obligations of our Creator. To set ourselves free from those foundations does not set us free at all, but places us at the mercy of a government which would determine rights and dignity upon the transient consensus of the populace at any moment, or the whims of its leaders.
May we pause this July 4 and recall this lesson our founders wished us to embrace.