By Ron Lora

In thinking about “America 250,” my mind immediately jumps to its ideals, beginning with 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.”  

Those beautiful words defined a revolutionary moment in history. They sparked a radical revolution producing a singular democratic society in which common people, beyond the confines of race or religion, could pursue lives outside the dictates of kings or lords or class.