As the U.S. celebrates the adoption of the Declaration of Independence this July 4th, let us not forget that no matter our political identity, our government still has much to do (e.g., guaranteeing women and men equal pay for equal work, protecting home health aides under the Fair Labor Standards Act so they too may earn overtime pay for their work, granting equal rights and responsibilities to same-sex and opposite-sex couples who choose to marry, providing equal and affordable access to high quality education, healthcare, day care, and elder care, etc.) in adhering to that document’s famous second sentence:

 “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."