{"id":594,"date":"2010-07-04T15:29:43","date_gmt":"2010-07-04T22:29:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jerrysjuicebar.com\/blog\/?p=594"},"modified":"2010-07-04T15:29:43","modified_gmt":"2010-07-04T22:29:43","slug":"happy-dependence-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jerrysjuicebar.com\/blog\/?p=594","title":{"rendered":"Happy Dependence Day"},"content":{"rendered":"

We can learn a lot from the Declaration of Independence. Happy July 4th.\u00a0 On this day we\u00a0 celebrate being ‘free’.<\/p>\n

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.\u00a0 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, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"<\/a>The authors\u00a0 go on at length describing the reasons for which they declare themselves to be ‘free’ of King George.\u00a0 It is a very healthy list that culminates in “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<\/em>.”<\/p>\n

Good.\u00a0 We all can agree that independence from tyrants is a good thing.\u00a0 But that was not the end of it.\u00a0 While we often focus on the the things that founders wanted to be ‘free’ from, we don’t pay enough attention to how the framers closed the document:<\/p>\n

And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So in severing their dependence from King George, the founders declared their dependence to be elsewhere — depending on Divine Providence and each other.<\/p>\n

This idea of dependence is lost in much social and political thinking these days.\u00a0 People claim that individuals, left to their own, can decide and do better than business and government.\u00a0 But as Mark Lilla recently wrote in The New York Review of Books<\/strong><\/a>, this type of groupthink has its own pitfalls.\u00a0 Indeed, there’s little in history to suggest that left alone, the individual can go very far.\u00a0 The question is not independence vs. dependence.\u00a0 The question is what things go in which category.<\/p>\n

So let’s celebrate both.<\/p>\n

I don’t want to be dependent on a single client or the next paycheck.\u00a0 I don’t want to be dependent on government subsidies or tax loopholes.\u00a0 I don’t want to be dependent on dumb luck, chance, or one-trick gimmicks (although I’ll likely accept if offered).\u00a0 I don’t want to be dependent on a single offering, service, investment, or option.<\/p>\n

I want to be independent of fads, phobias, freaks, and phonies. I\u00a0 want to be independent of my vices, foibles, and addictions.\u00a0 I want to be independent of my own whims, vanities and stupidities.<\/p>\n

I want to dependent on the military and police to arrest the bad guys and keep me safe.\u00a0 On farmers to figure out a way to feed me and the rest of the world. On teachers to help educate my children and my grandchildren.\u00a0\u00a0 On financiers to help lend me money when I need to invest.\u00a0 On bankers and money managers to keep my investments safe.\u00a0 On judges and lawyers to administer justice.\u00a0 On\u00a0 engineers to find a sustainable and affordable way to keep the lights on.\u00a0 On people smarter than I to invent the next new thing.<\/p>\n

I want people to depend on me.<\/p>\n

I want my customers to depend on me for good products and services.\u00a0 I want people I meet to depend on me for ideas and advice.\u00a0 I want community, friends, and family to depend on me for help and support.\u00a0 I want my wife and children to depend on me being a good husband and father.<\/p>\n

Like the founding fathers, I want to depend on God and my fellow man.
\nIndependence alone leads to self indulgence; a cruel master.\u00a0\u00a0 Accepting dependence through serving others is the highest delight.<\/p>\n

What do you depend on?<\/p>\n

Depend wisely.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We can learn a lot from the Declaration of Independence. Happy July 4th.\u00a0 On this day we\u00a0 celebrate being ‘free’. 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…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[156],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jerrysjuicebar.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/594"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jerrysjuicebar.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jerrysjuicebar.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jerrysjuicebar.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jerrysjuicebar.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=594"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/jerrysjuicebar.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/594\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":603,"href":"https:\/\/jerrysjuicebar.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/594\/revisions\/603"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jerrysjuicebar.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=594"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jerrysjuicebar.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=594"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jerrysjuicebar.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=594"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}