IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.
​

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

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.
    He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of
        their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
    He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the
        rights of the people.
    He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative
        powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining
        in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
    He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for        
        Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the
        conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
    He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary
        powers.
    He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of
        their salaries.
    He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat
        out their substance.
    He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
    He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
    He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by
        our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
    For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
    For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the
        Inhabitants of these States:
    For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
    For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
    For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
    For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences
    For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary
        government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for
        introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
    For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our
        Governments:
    For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all
        cases whatsoever.
    He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
    He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
    He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation
        and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous
        ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
     He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to
        become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
    He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our
        frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all
        ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. 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.

Some of these pieces manifest in the form of baskets from hundreds of years ago, the intricacies of the weaves defying every attempt to say that these were primitive people.  The pottery in the museum includes shapes and figures that modern people may not recognize, but one display (above) has some very familiar images.  No, that bowl is not as old as most of the others.

As far as Native jewelry is concerned, the display below points out some interesting features.

Finally, the pictures below denote a tale of two sculptures.  The first, The Pioneer Woman, is not an homage to Ree Drummond; although Mrs. Drummond is a pioneer in some ways, this sculpture (a study for the full-sized statue in Ponca City, Oklahoma) intends to portray the strength of women who pioneered moves to new locations on the prairie.  The statue is normally photographed from the front, where the onlooker notices the boy in one hand and books in the other.  Clearly, she is intelligent and responsible.

But a view from the side reveals something else:  her determination.  He gait carries her forward.  She knows where she is going.  She is unstoppable.  And she does it all in a bonnet, a long dress and petticoats.

The next sculpture rests nearby, but not in a resting position.  It is an unbelievable first attempt at sculpture for the iconic artist, Frederic Remington.  While The Pioneer Woman denotes a determined resolve, perhaps Broncho Buster does the same thing in a very different manner.  Here, the cowboy fights to stay on the horse.  His determination is to do so in spite of danger and challenge.  His seat remains firmly planted in the saddle.  His leans forward in his posture.  He reaches back for balance.  And all while keeping his hat on his head.

Both of these historic sculptures speak to us today and teach us valuable lessons.  We, too, must lean forward, determined, while reaching behind us for security.  We, too, must keep our chins up, learn what it takes to achieve, and take others with us.

The Southwest galleries at the Fred Jones Museum of Art allows such quiet contemplation if you take the time to allow it to do so.  Watch for more posts from other sections of the museum coming soon.

There were six standout times during my trip to Disney World a month ago.  They're probably not the same standout times that my peers on the trip would point out, but then again, I think differently (and I'm happy to say so.).  Most people would not put commercial air flights and bus rides on their list, but three of my six greatest memories from the trip are just that.  In fact, all six involve my blessed life away from a Disney vacation.  The magical moments and life lessons have more to do with God and family than Disney at all, and that realization continues to satisfy me greatly.  Here is the first of those six moments.

​1.  Crash Landing
OK, so we didn't really crash land, but sometime during the flight from Atlanta to Orlando a little flap opened in the ceiling of the plane.  Thankfully, those famous masks remained in place - that is, until the pilot brought the craft down pretty hard on the runway in Orlando.  It was then that the cluster of masks dropped.  A ceiling panel above the aisle jostled loose as well.

There is a museum on the University of Oklahoma campus that takes the visitor to lands far and near.  Moments in the Fred Jones Museum of Art compel the visitor to ponder the world and its cultures.

I found myself spending four hours perusing the sculptures and paintings of this museum on a recent trip to the area.  My daughter, beginning her college life on the OU campus, this fall, needed to spend a day with the marching band in the building across the street from this stone structure, and during the last year or so, I have wondered as to what might await me inside the museum.

​The large, bronze Sphinx out front certainly draws the eye, but I'm not so sure it gives the right impression about what is inside.  Is this a modern art building, a display of student art created in college classes, or is it a serious collection of masterpieces?  The steel sculpture on the other side of the entrance is no help:  it is a wheel of curved steel, with each curve ending in simplistic human eyes.  When I saw the title of the piece, I had to laugh out loud:  Big Walking Eye Flower.  No one can claim that particular piece is wrongly named.

Of course, as sights and sounds often do, the sculpture and its title start me to thinking:

What if everything was named exactly as they are?
What if nothing was subjective?

Sometimes I see a title, and the accompanying art piece needs further interpretation for me.  Sometimes the artists purpose eludes me, and I fail to understand the meaning of it.

But for the Big Walking Eye Flower, the name is perhaps the best part of the sculpture.  Of course, I'm pretty sure the thing is rolling around the corner - to get away from that Sphinx creature on the other side.  What it may not know is that there are more modern sculptures in its path (not pictured here), including a giant man leisurely reclining in the grass (and by that I mean that he is half-way buried in the lawn).

The whole museum has kind of a Tardis effect in that it seems much larger on the inside than it does on the outside.  Normally, I wouldn't have the time to appreciate every single piece that hangs in an art museum, but as I said, I was in there for four hours on a Friday, just me and a few docents with nothing else to do except guard the art and keep me from breathing too closely to it.  In a couple of days, I'll take you inside the museum for a look at one section.

I wasn't interested in a lot of what Hollywood Studios had to offer, but I did want to soak in the theming of the area.  The Muppet 3D show has always been a pretty decent way to get out of the sun, but this show is getting old and desperately needs to be updated.  The whole area around the theater is now a Muppet area, and the theming is apparent if you know much about the franchise, but again, some of the shops were closed, and much of what is there is just facade.

Nearby is the underpass to another land that has made Hollywood Studios into a must-visit destination for many fans.  It is the Star Wars section of the park.  

Visitors will schedule a time to stand in line to pay good money to build a light saber in this section, and it blows my mind.  None of the rides has short wait times, and since I am not a fan of the franchise, I didn't need to spend much time here.

In fact, I think the display took the place of Pixar Studios, where guests used to take tours of the animation process, talk to illustrators, and catch some behind-the-scenes looks at upcoming Pixar features.  Sadly, that has also fallen by the wayside.

Instead, there is Toy Story Land.  Going from Star Wars to Toy Story is a harsh transition.  This decor of the area is well-themed, but there is not much to do if you don't want to stand in line for a Slinky Dog roller coaster or a couple of other rides.

Also present were movie props from the classic 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, as well as an original model of the Jungle Cruise at Magic Kingdom.  I was impressed to see the original programming console for the audio-animatronic of Abraham Lincoln, created for the 1964 World's Fair.  Right next to it was the original, skinless body of the 16th president, which moved and talked to audiences almost 60 years ago.  I wondered at how much the technology has improved for the new audio-animatronic humans still entertaining in various park attractions today.​

The Tower of Terror is also in the area - now the symbol for the park due to its height.

After this, I was off to Disney Springs for a look around.  For transportation, I chose the Skyliner and rode the cable over the headwaters of the Everglades.

On the way, I stopped at the Art of Animation resort to catch a connecting bus.  This resort had an interesting vibe in the Finding Nemo area.  I wanted more time to explore other locations.

The best part of Animal Kingdom is its ability to immerse the guest in the culture of the African and Asian continents.  Asia's ride feature is Expedition Everest ​- a coaster in which riders encounter the yeti.

Yes, we were on Good Morning, America because of our 50 Teachers Celebration at Disney World.  In fact, cameras were on us the whole day.  Someone suggested that they probably have close to 100 hours of footage to sift through.  Others predict that there could be a special on Disney+ in the coming weeks.  None of us knows the plans for all of the footage following our experiences.  Below left is a link to one of the GMA reports, and at the right is a better, more explanatory video.  I suppose I can now claim that I have appeared in a Disney production and that I have appeared on national television.  By the way, in the GMA report, when KATRINA mentions they had a history teacher helping them, that's a reference to Yours Truly.

Since I began teaching, my family has changed drastically.

When I started, all four of my grandparents were still living.  When I started, I was unmarried, still dating.

When I started, there was no daughter, no son.

When I started, my dad was still alive.

While the word patriarch should never be used for someone with my vitality and charm, it would seem that I have suddenly been rocketed into the role.  Outside of my mother, who just turned 78, I am the oldest.  There are only three generations in our family.  My children only knew one of their great grandparents (My son doesn't remember her at all.); otherwise, they only know them through stories that I can tell them.

I still remember everything with fondness, but it has all changed so drastically in just three decades.