This rule gives the holiday meaning to me. When I choose to surround myself with loved ones — whether I’m in a backyard, home, or watching fireworks over the Charles River in Boston — I exercise my independence. It’s a tribute to our Founders’ vision — a truly American way to celebrate.

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Our thirteen colonies came together two hundred and forty-two years ago to become a stronger, unified whole. Despite varied opinion and experience, we declared we are all equal and we are one. Our inalienable rights — our different lives, our freedoms, our personal pursuits — made us full and distinct, not separate.

Today, we see tribal divisions tearing the country apart. Officials in Congress serve their party, not our people. Voters seem to pledge allegiance to people who are like them, leaving out anyone who is different. Differences have become reasons to stay separate, weaken our ties, and undermine our earliest declaration of a Whole New World.

The Fourth offers an opportunity to reflect on and reclaim our Independence.

Today, as I think about the struggle of our Founding Fathers and Mothers, I see how far we have moved from their goal. They fought to free us from religious persecution, the control of a royal monarch, and offered us the opportunity to vote for a representative government.

Now the divisions in our country have become more important than our ability to support each other as one whole. So, we are asking people to join us we embark on a mission to help people understand that we are better when we are together and this is a country worth saving.

We’re going to be spending the next year building programs that will bring people together across our most incalcitrant divide — that between urban and rural Americans. We’ll convene a series of exchanges and conversations that will cover a wide variety of topics — everything from race to economics, gender equality to immigration — all with the idea of finding our common humanity.

If finding a way to co-exist is as important to you as it is to me, please join us on this journey. Because we are stronger when we work together and this is #ACountryWorthSaving

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