This view breaks the statement into its steps and names what each one does.
Mr. President, Claims · 102 wordswe recently celebrated the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence--the 250th birthday of our country.1 On July 4 in 1776, the Continental Congress formally adopted the Declaration.2 The document laid out the causes which impelled the colonists’ separation from Great Britain. But more than that, it laid out the political beliefs that would govern a new nation. Unalienable rights--rights inherent in man, given by God; rights that exist before government; and that it is the job of government to protect--government not by divine right or military might, but by consent; a government that represents the people, not the will to power. Aside · 4 wordsA revolutionary document--pun intended.Aside Claims · 129 wordsMany of the ideas in the Declaration, of course, were not new. It was a document built on the wisdom of the ages, on the tradition of British common law, on the inheritance of Christianity, and the colonists’ own experiment in self- government in the colonies. Jefferson himself, writing in 1825, said of the Declaration: 3While many of the ideas in the Declaration were not new, the document was nevertheless, as I said, revolutionary because the Declaration marked an event essentially unique in human history. There had been philosophical treatises on laying out principles of government, but this was not a philosophical treatise. It was the founding of a government, of a new nation, based on philosophical principles--a nation inaugurated not by conquest but on a set of ideas. Procedure · 3 wordsAnd what ideas: ProcedureClaims · 5 wordsAll men are created equal. Positioning · 11 wordsWhere before in the history of governments do we find that?Positioning Claims · 114 wordsAll men are created equal. No one is given special dignity by nature; no man has a divine right to rule over any other. No, all men are created equal--created equal and endowed by their Creator with unalienable rights, rights that cannot be taken away, rights that are not the gift of government but of nature and of nature’s God, rights that government must defer to and defend. As everyone knows, the United States is currently hosting the World Cup.4Unearned certainty The media has been filled with stories on how much visitors to this country are enjoying the United States. They are encountering the American character: generous, optimistic, big-hearted, friendly. And they are embracing it. Reasoning · 42 wordsAnd it occurs to me that that American character almost unquestionably has a lot to do with our founding principles.Unearned certainty When you believe that all men are created equal, when you believe that they have God-given rights and dignity--well, that has consequences. Claims · 25 wordsAll men are created equal. There is no class of divinely appointed rulers, no hereditary aristocratic class, no barriers set to prevent you from rising. Reasoning · 34 wordsThose principles have consequences. So I don’t think it is surprising that Americans are generous and big-hearted and optimistic and friendly. I think it is the natural consequence of the principles that we espouse. Claims · 33 wordsEvery Fourth of July is a day of celebration, but this one--marking 250 years--was particularly special. South Dakota was honored to welcome President Trump to our fireworks at Mount Rushmore--a truly spectacular event.5 Positioning · 14 wordsThere is no better place to reflect on the majesty of this great country.Positioning Claims · 125 wordsIt is fitting too, though, that along with the celebrations--along with the fireworks and the parades and the hotdogs and the hamburgers-- that July 4 be a day of thanksgiving for the Declaration of Independence and the Nation it founded, for the blessing of liberty, and for all those who have pledged their lives to its defense, from the founding of our country to the present day. Ralph Waldo Emerson, in his ``Concord Hymn,’’ referred to the opening shot of the battles of Lexington and Concord as ``the shot heard round the world.’’6 If I may borrow his phrase, I think it is fair to say that the Declaration was the ``statement heard round the world.’’ It is still--still--heard round the world to this day, Aside · 29 wordsand I pray it will be heard until the end of time. May God bless our beloved country and keep us faithful to the principles for which we stand.Aside Procedure · 4 wordsI yield the floor.Procedure Mr. President, Procedure · 7 wordsI suggest the absence of a quorum.Procedure
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