TAPPER: Finally today, 200 years ago today the Congress approved the final wording of the Declaration of Independence, perhaps most famously declaring "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." Lesser known is the last sentence in the Declaration of Independence, "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." There really are not that many of us who actually walk that walk, who truly pledge our lives and our sacred honor for this country and for what it endeavours to represent not just independence from Great Britain and King George III, but from the old order. Yet every day we hear of those who do pledge their lives. Two days ago in Afghanistan, Army Specialist Hilda Clayton from Augusta, Georgia was killed. The married 22-year-old was the most recent soldier in a long line of tens of thousands to die serving this country and what it endeavors to represent namely liberty and freedom. No less heroic, no less pledging their lives are those 19 elite firefighters who perished on Sunday in Arizona or the Hood County Texas Sheriff's deputy who died a day before while answering a disturbance call and so on. So as we honor and thank our founding fathers today, the 56 signatories on the Declaration of Independence and more, we here at THE LEAD also want to thank all of those who continue to uphold that sacred pledge, who enable to us live in this amazing country, where we exercise those certain unalienable rights. Happy Fourth of July. Hash tag, you're it. We asked you earlier to expand upon the Declaration of Independence and send us a few more unalienable rights. God bless America. That's it for THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper. I now leave you in the very capable hands of Wolf Blitzer in "THE SITUATION ROOM."
Upholding The Founding Fathers' Words