[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 122 (Tuesday, July 13, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S4851]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                      Declaration of Independence

  Mr. President, I have spoken many times about the importance of the 
Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. It should go without 
saying that these documents are foundational to our Nation. They were 
revolutionary texts for the time that laid out our timeless founding 
ideals, and we still continue to strive toward those ideals as 
Americans. Unfortunately, it seems this fact can't be taken for granted 
anymore.

  So, on the Fourth of July, National Public Radio continued its 
tradition of sharing the text of the declaration, but something 
different happened this year. It began the program with what they call 
in colleges now a ``trigger warning,'' telling its audience that ``the 
declaration is a document with flaws and deeply ingrained 
hypocrisies.''
  Now, instead of highlighting the American ideals that it laid out, 
NPR decided that the most important thing to note was that it contained 
outdated language about Native Americans and that its ideals were not 
yet fully realized when it was written.
  I can think of many ways to introduce a reader to this document, but 
it fundamentally misses the point to focus on the flaws of the authors 
and signers rather than the ideals it lays out of natural rights 
endowed to all by our Creator. The people who wrote the declaration 
were not perfect, just like we aren't perfect today, but the principles 
they espoused remain true to this day and have changed the course of 
human history for the better.
  We need not ignore the fact that the Founders did not live up to the 
lofty goals that they set, but it does a great disservice to focus on 
those flaws while glossing over the fact that our founding principles 
were truly exceptional in human history. They set us on a path to 
abolish slavery, provide the justification for women's suffrage, and 
formed the basis of the civil rights movement.
  On July 4, we celebrate our Nation, ``conceived in liberty and 
dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal,'' as 
Abraham Lincoln so stated. It is imperative that we do not lose sight 
of our founding principles, which unite all Americans and have been the 
driving force helping us achieve a more perfect Union.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Markey). The Senator from Arizona.