This post originally appeared at https://wifamilycouncil.org/radio/freedom-demands-responsibility/
2025 | Week of June 30 | Radio Transcript #1625
As we prepare to celebrate the Fourth of July with fireworks, parades, picnics, and family gatherings, it’s easy to forget the deeper meaning behind this holiday. We pause to remember the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, when a group of courageous men pledged their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor to declare that our nation would no longer live under tyranny but would be free and self-governing. For them, freedom was not a license to do whatever they wanted. Rather, it was the opportunity and responsibility to govern themselves under God’s authority.
At Wisconsin Family Council, we believe that truth still stands today. Freedom divorced from virtue becomes chaos. Liberty without morality becomes licentiousness. Our Founders understood this. John Adams said it best: “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” They knew that for freedom to flourish, it must be grounded in faith and lived out in virtue.
Yet as we look around our nation today, we see a culture that increasingly wants freedom without responsibility, rights without duties, and blessings without acknowledging the Giver of those blessings. Our Declaration of Independence famously states that “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights.” That phrase alone shows that our rights do not come from government. They come from God Himself. And if we ignore Him as the Source of those rights, we quickly find ourselves losing them one by one.
The freedoms we celebrate on the Fourth of July were purchased at great cost. The signers of the Declaration risked everything for the cause of liberty. Many lost their property, their positions, and some even their lives. They understood that freedom requires sacrifice and that self-government is only possible when individuals first govern themselves.
That’s why at Wisconsin Family Council we continue to advocate for policies that strengthen families, uphold religious freedom, protect the sanctity of human life, and preserve parental rights. Strong families are the cornerstone of a free society. When families thrive, communities thrive. When families break down, government expands to fill the void, and liberty is diminished.
This year, as we celebrate Independence Day, we encourage every Wisconsin family to talk with their children and grandchildren about the true meaning of freedom. Tell them the story of our nation’s founding. Read portions of the Declaration of Independence together. Pray for our country and its leaders. Ask God to turn our hearts back to Him, because ultimately, no policy, election, or court decision can save us if we forsake the very foundation upon which our freedom rests.
Growing up, my Fourth of July celebrations meant gathering with family for burgers, homemade ice cream, and fireworks. But my parents also made sure we understood why we were celebrating. They reminded us we are blessed to live in a nation where we can worship freely, speak freely, and work to shape our laws in accordance with our beliefs.
This holiday is not just about looking back. It’s about looking forward. What kind of nation are we leaving to our children and grandchildren? Will they inherit a country that still acknowledges God and protects religious liberty, or will they inherit a land where freedom has been redefined to mean moral chaos and government power unchecked?
On this Fourth of July, let us resolve to be people who exercise our freedom responsibly. Let us commit to using our voices to advocate for what is right and good. Let us honor the sacrifices of those who came before us by living lives of integrity, service, and courage.
Most importantly, let us remember that true freedom is not merely political. Paul tells us in Galatians that “[f]or freedom that Christ has set us free” (Galatians 5:1). The greatest liberty is freedom from sin and death through Jesus Christ. Without that spiritual freedom, no amount of political freedom will satisfy or sustain an individual or a nation. As individuals and as a country, we must remain rooted in God’s truth if we are to remain truly free.
At Wisconsin Family Council, we are committed to continuing this work—defending life, strengthening marriages and families, protecting religious liberty, and promoting the common good—so that our beloved state and nation remain places where faith, family, and freedom flourish together.
May God bless your family this Independence Day. And may He continue to bless Wisconsin and the United States of America as we acknowledge Him as the Source of all true liberty.
For Wisconsin Family Council, this is Julaine Appling, reminding you that God, through the Prophet Hosea, said, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.”
Haylee Lawver