Died On The Fourth Of July

Did anybody watch the finale of the "John Adams " miniseries on HBO last night? It was beautiful. Consider this - John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, two enormously important figures in the American Revolution and the founding of our country, the second and third presidents of the United States, dearest of friends and fierce political rivals, both died on July 4th,1826, exactly fifty years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The spiritual, karmic significance of this is mind-boggling.

"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."

These great souls, the men and women who began this country, mere mortals at one level with deep human flaws, were here to announce something to the world. It is true that we have not fully lived up to these ideals, not by a long shot, but nonetheless, they were heralds for the future, as were the words and deeds of other great spiritual leaders throughout history - Jesus, Buddha, Ghandi, Martin Luther King and others - whose words and deeds we also have not lived up to.

The amazing non-coincidence of the timing of the deaths of Adams and Jefferson was meant to tell us something, that it was the magnificent voice of All That Is, the Universe, the Collective Consciousness, God, whatever you want to call it speaking through these two human beings, foretelling us why we are here and where we are heading. Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. These are not political goals. These are not issues of the left or right. These are "unalienable Rights," beyond ideology, beyond dogma.

Life. Liberty. Happiness. That's why we're here, and to secure these rights: "Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed."

Wow! How about that? According to our most sacred laws, the government only has the power that we give it, and that power is to secure for us that which fulfills our lives. Were you thinking about that when you cowered in fear last week filing your taxes? How did that get flipped over? Yeah, that's right, your taxes in reality are correctly what you're paying an employee who works for you! Wasn't that what you were thinking when you wrote the check? Right.

So, I ask you, whoever you are, Democrat or Republican, candidate or voter, man or woman, young person or elder - what the fuck is going on?! How did we get here? We scratch and claw and clutch onto our opinions and our turf and our fleeting fifteen minutes of fame, while our lives, our liberties and our happiness slip away.

John Adams emplored us to make good use of the freedom that cost so dearly to attain. Lest he repent in Heaven that he ever took half the pains to preserve it, people, open your minds, elevate your consciousness, connect to your feelings, free up your spirit. Become a true American by becoming a fully alive, free, happy human being. Really, you're meant to do it, and you won't need to put a flag pin on your lapel!