The David and Lucile Packard Foundation’s Post

🎇 Happy Independence Day! As we gather to celebrate our nation’s founding, let’s reflect on a core question: What makes America truly great? 🤔💡 #July4th #IndependenceDay On this day in 1776, our founders embarked on a bold experiment in democracy by declaring all people are created equal. This principle has guided us as a nation through more than two centuries of change. It’s a reminder that our strength comes from our commitment to freedom—for everyone. 🗽📜 Consider the early patriots, who dared to imagine a free America where every voice could be heard. From the abolitionists to the suffragettes to civil rights heroes, every generation has champions who have pushed us closer to fulfilling that original promise of liberty and justice for all. Isn’t that the heart of patriotism? ❤️ This July 4th, let’s honor our nation not just by looking back, but by looking forward. Let’s commit to ensuring that freedom and justice are not just ideals, but realities for all. As we enjoy today’s celebrations, let’s also ask ourselves: How can we contribute to making America live up to its highest ideals? 🌟🚀 #4thOfJuly #AmericanPride #FreedomAndJustice

Today, as many in the U.S. observe the 4th of July, I find myself reflecting on the many dimensions of independence. Whether you're celebrating or, as Gabriela Acosta wisely puts it, hoping for more reasons to celebrate next year, it’s a moment to consider the deeper meanings of freedom. Independence Day traditionally marks autonomy from monarchical rule--which is particularly poignant this year--but deserves to be met with more than unequivocal celebration. Like all things, this deserves some both/and: - BOTH celebration of the freedoms achieved AND a recognition that there's so much farther to go, at home and abroad - BOTH awareness of the freedoms we look to the powers-that-be to guarantee for us AND the freedoms we need win for ourselves by demanding and acting on them - BOTH valuing essential political and social freedoms AND recognizing the personal entanglements and inner attachments continue to inhibit true individual liberation in so many ways This year, may we recognize that there are freedoms that we look to external powers to bestow and guarantee on our behalf, and other freedoms that we can only achieve through personal development and collective action. And, may we have more to celebrate next year. #independenceday #personalgrowth #collectiveaction #freedom

🎆 Reflecting on Independence Day: The Impact of July 4th on Modern America 🎆 As we celebrate another Fourth of July with fireworks, parades, and picnics, it’s a perfect moment to reflect on the profound influence this day has on our nation’s identity and values. July 4th, 1776, marked the birth of the United States, a nation founded on principles like freedom, equality, and the pursuit of happiness. These ideals have not only shaped our domestic policies but have also positioned the U.S. as a beacon of democracy worldwide. Today, as we navigate complex social and economic challenges, the spirit of Independence Day reminds us of our ongoing journey toward a more inclusive and equitable society. It encourages us to evaluate our progress and recommit to the values at the heart of the American experience. #IndependenceDay #July4th #AmericanValues #Democracy

OUR COMMON PURPOSE: REINVENTING AMERICAN DEMOCRACY FOR THE 21ST CENTURY https://lnkd.in/gqCRFKrP Throughout our country’s history, the American people have confronted moments of crisis with resilience and an openness to reinvention, enabling our nation to become a better version of itself. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, the members of this Commission recognized that we found ourselves at a similar crossroads. The recommendations in this report touch all sectors of American life and offer a bold path that will require all of us to commit to reinventing aspects of our constitutional democracy. The realities of a disruptive media and information environment, outdated political institutions, economic and social inequality, and hyperpartisan political leadership have laid bare the urgency of this imperative. The Commission challenges us to achieve significant progress toward its recommendations by 2026, our nation’s 250th anniversary. 

"Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." - Let's honor the words that shaped a nation. 🇺🇸 Happy Independence Day! Let's celebrate freedom and democracy today. What are your favorite Independence Day traditions? Share them in the comments! #USA #IndependenceDay #July4th #DigitalMarketing #SocialMediaMarketing #GrowYourBusiness #MarketingAgency #GetResults #MarketingFreedom #usaphilippines

"Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." - Let's honor the words that shaped a nation. 🇺🇸 Happy Independence Day! Let's celebrate freedom and democracy today. What are your favorite Independence Day traditions? Share them in the comments! #USA #IndependenceDay #July4th #DigitalMarketing #SocialMediaMarketing #GrowYourBusiness #MarketingAgency #GetResults #MarketingFreedom #usaphilippines

Should Trump versus Biden be the main presidential candidates.If not them then who if Biden leaves with a replacement undermining a Trump victory. It is far time that there be a female president in the US and if they can be of colour plus with Asian ethnicity so be it for the better. And of a younger generation. It may be that voters have to wait five years for such a match up. Thus Nikki Haley versus Kamala Harris would be a more interesting competition than the current contest between Biden and Trump. The only caveat I have is that unfortunately both these possible better presidential candidates are too much in the pocket of the global neo-liberal and neoconservative elites. Haley had been paid off too much by the big banks with her having got huge fees for giving speeches to these institutions which dominate government as well as other main lobbies. In this sense Trump is a better candidate on this. My guess is that there will be a Trump presidency again and after that a Haley versus Harris ticket will be a likelihood.

🇺🇸 Happy Independence Day! As we celebrate our nation's freedom, it's crucial to remember what makes America great: 👉Our Constitution👈 Our Constitution is not up for debate. It's the foundation of our nation. If we allow it to be undermined, we risk losing our identity and our freedoms. Freedom of speech, the right to bear arms, and individual liberties... These are not outdated concepts. They're the pillars of our democracy. I will always stand up for what our founders built... And Reject the radical agendas trying to rewrite our history. We must protect our Constitution, our rights, and our future. This Independence Day... Let's remember to take a stand. Be unapologetically proud of our heritage. Defend our Constitution with everything you've got. Our nation's future depends on it.

Happy Juneteenth or Freedom Day! Today, we recognize the progress we made as a nation and the changes that still need to happen. Check out this link to learn more about local events and ways you can participate in celebrating our nation's second Independence Day: https://lnkd.in/gQxmswDn

I’d also like to to thank all of the brave people who gave their lives to obtain and keep our independence for the last 248 years. Original Declaration (link below to read all of it): 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. 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, that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these Ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its Foundation on such Principles, and organizing its Powers in such Form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient Causes; and accordingly all Experience hath shewn, that Mankind are more disposed to suffer, while Evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the Forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long Train of Abuses and Usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object, evinces a Design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their Right, it is their Duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future Security. Such has been the patient Sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the Necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The History of the present King of Great-Britain is a History of repeated Injuries and Usurpations, all having in direct Object the Establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid World. He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public Good. He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing Importance, unless suspended in their Operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them. He has refused to pass other Laws for the Accommodation of large Districts of People, unless those People would relinquish the Right of Representation in the Legislature, a Right inestimable to them, and formidable to Tyrants only. Continue reading here: https://lnkd.in/eNbxeumW