Our big theme this year as we prepare to celebrate Independence Day is: “Restoring Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.” That phrase is prominent in what is unquestionably the most important document in the English language, the Declaration of Independence. Indeed, except for maybe the Bible, I think it’s the most important document in world history.

The Declaration of Independence was essentially a bill of attainder against the despotic King George III and Britain: “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.” 

Right here, I want to draw a parallel to today and emphasize the word “separation.” President Biden is not King George, but his attempt at a radical, woke transformation of American society; his big-government socialist approach to the economy; and the complete collapse of his extremist energy policy that is attempting to end fossil fuels has generated political and economic revolt in America. 

The huge backlash against Mr. Biden and his far-left progressivism reaches into virtually every nook and cranny of the country and its population. I believe what’s happening today is that voters are planning to peacefully — through the power of the midterm elections — withhold the consent of the governed and institute a new government. In short, the cavalry is on the way. 

Launched by the Founders and stemming from the Declaration of Independence, our great democracy is working well. Make no mistake, though, there’s a giant revolution at work. A separation is coming. Just as Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin, James Madison, and the other authors of the Declaration envisioned 246 years ago. 

Then comes the most famous paragraph in the annals of democracy, a rallying cry for all ages: “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.” 

Please note, the Founders acknowledge that the Creator endowed all men (and women) with these inalienable rights. Also, note the Founders’ clear view that governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed. 

So let us suggest that the pecking order starts with the Creator, God, giving the power to the people — that is, the consent of the governed — and they tell the government what to do. The big-government Socialists today believe it’s the government that is all-powerful, that the people barely matter except for a few lefty interest groups. In the radical progressive world, there is no God. Indeed, there is no religion. 

Then there’s the phrase, “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” I think it’s my favorite. In all likelihood, it was coined by an English philosopher, John Locke. History suggests he was a good pal of Jefferson, Franklin, and Madison. One phrase definitely coined by the libertarian Locke was, “no absolute power over the lives, liberties, and estates of the people.” 

Locke insisted on the rule of law and the sanctity of private property. He detested the idea that governments have absolute power. Jefferson, a brilliant thinker and writer, was also a good marketing man. He knew how to sell a product — in this case, independence. So, for media purposes, he took out “estates” and put in “pursuit of happiness.” And it worked. The document sold like wildfire. Immediately jumped to no. 1 on the best-seller list for the 13 colonies. 

It has been the revolutionary, rallying phrase for democracy crusaders ever since. Right now, here in America, very few people feel confident about the outlook for “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Most believe they are worse off than they were 18 months ago. 

Virtually every aspect of daily American life is in decline. We have record inflation with skyrocketing gas and grocery prices. Falling real wages. A looming recession. An overreaching government that believes it’s all-powerful, with command and control, regulatory state-ist authority. That seeks to control information. Limit free speech. Curtail religious freedom. Keep parents out of schools, radicalize education around race, gender, and sexual identification. Undermine law and order. Defend criminals, not victims. Attacks against revered institutions like the Supreme Court. Declares war on businesses, encompassing a radical green climate strategy that is in complete collapse at home and globally. Mocks our traditional free-enterprise economic system. Spends, borrows, and prints money without a shred of discipline or purpose. Imposing confiscatory taxes on successful entrepreneurs and businesses. Has ended sovereignty at the border. Has completely bungled our national security policies — with a catastrophic withdrawal from Afghanistan and always falling a few steps behind Vladimir Putin in Ukraine. And believes in global governance, rather than America first. 

It’s a modern day Bill of Attainder against an absolutist government. Thomas Jefferson and the Founders would be proud. And they would know that America will find the best ways to restore “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” 

There will be a return to our freedoms. Our free enterprise. Our decency. And our traditional values. That’s what will make America work again. This is a fight worth making and winning. That’s what July 4th and the Declaration of Independence is all about. 

From Mr. Kudlow’s broadcast on Fox Business News.