JULY 4TH GREETINGS AS WE CELEBRATE THIS COUNTRY'S 250th! CELEBRATING AMERICA'SPAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE--A DECLARATION OF INTERDEPENDENCE--OF LIVING THE TRUTH THATALL (ANIMAL, VEGETABLE AND MINERAL)ARE CREATED EQUAL ANDARE ENDOWED BY NATURE WITH CERTAININALIENABLE RIGHTS:THAT AMONG GTHESE ARE LIFE, LIBERTY, AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS FORALL LIFE. Carleton and Ellie Stock 250 YEARS SINCE ITS FOUNDING, AMERICA NEEDS A DECLARATION OF INTERDEPENDENCE(Excerpts)Words by Barathunde Thurston INTERDEPENDENCE Is not just an Indigenous principle—it is the LAW OFNATURE, exhibited by ALL LIVING SYSTEMS, and it reflects the fact that RELATIONSHIPS, not isolation, are coreto SUSTAINING LIFE. In this age of cascading crises, as we revisit the more completefounding narrative of our nation, living in the TRUTH of our INTERDEPENDENCE may be the most importantchoice we can make. INTERDEPENDENCE is a reorientation: from RELATIONSHIPS built on hierarchy andtransaction to ones rooted in RECIPROCITY; from governance thatconcentrates power in the hands of the few to governance that LIBERATES the MANY; from seeing the EARTH as a collection ofresources to honoring it as a COMMUNITY OF RELATIONS; from the pursuit ofgreed to the practice of PEACE. To shift our systems, we must shift our story. Fortunately, 2026 represents a season richwith narrative possibility. With our shared attention focused on remembering the founding events of1776, let’s seize this current moment as a refounding one, with principles of INTERDEPENDENCE intact and central. Aswe’ve learned from the restoration of devastated ecosystems, when done theright way, those systems come back better than ever, faster than expected. Ibelieve the same can be true for our DEMOCRACY. It is hard to let go of the myth of separation, dominance, andindividualistic independence given the culture in which most of us have beenraised. It’s time to recognize that DEMOCRACY in its highest form wasnot imported from Europe—it was native to this land, rooted in PEACE, EQUALITY, ECOLOGICALSTEWARDSHIP, and BALANCE, and it was willingly shared. This is not a call to replace the foundingstory. It is a call to expand it—a UNIFYING VISION that makes room for ALL the excluded TOBELONG to the AUTHENTIC STORY of this nation and to the STORY OF LIFE. And this time around, we can grow from We thePeople, to WE THE LIVING. atmos.earth › political-landscapes ›250-years-since250 Years SinceIts Founding, America Needs a Declaration of ... Nov27, 2025 · It’s time to expand the founding story of the US to reflectthe forms of democracy that many of this land’s original inhabitants practicedso well, writes Emmy-nominated storyteller