A Southern Perspective on Why Thomas Jefferson Would Be Grinning Like a Possum Eating Sweet Potato Pie
Author: Dean Burnette
Date: July 4, 2025
Well, folks, happy birthday to the grand old lady herself. Two hundred and forty-nine years old and still the prettiest girl at the dance. As the fireworks get ready to paint the Georgia sky tonight, it’s hard not to get a little sentimental. It doesn’t matter who you are, where you’re from, or who you pulled the lever for last November—that feeling when the first notes of the Star-Spangled Banner hit, that’s a uniter. It’s a moment that reminds us we’re all part of this grand, messy, beautiful experiment.
Now, I know for a fact that folks on every side of the political fence love this country.
We all want to see our neighbors thrive, our kids have it better than we did, and our nation stand as that shining city on a hill. We just have some mighty different ideas about the road map to get there. And that’s okay. That’s part of the deal our forefathers signed up for.
It reminds me of a story, a real one, that winds through the very history of our nation’s capital. You see, back in 1793, President George Washington himself laid the first cornerstone for the U.S. Capitol building. A foundation. Years later, on another July 4th, they laid a second one. Then a third during the tense days of the Cold War. It seems that on the eve of our nation’s birthday, we have a habit of laying down markers for our future.
And just yesterday, as Speaker Mike Johnson reminded us, Congress laid another one. A fourth cornerstone. They’re callin’ it the “Big Beautiful Bill,” and Lord have mercy, the hollerin’ and caterwauling from the media would make you think they were passing a bill to outlaw sweet tea and cornbread.
They say it’s a giveaway to the rich, a punishment for the poor. They’re trying to scare good, hardworking folks into believing their government has turned on them. But as I was listening to Speaker Johnson, a Louisiana man who speaks my language, he said something that stuck with me. He said, “it takes a lot longer to build a lie than to tell the simple truth.”**
And the simple truth, folks, is that the recipe for this bill wasn’t cooked up in some backroom by a bunch of coastal elites. It was shaped by the very people the other side claims to be championing. Speaker Johnson talked about the historic wave of new voters who joined the Republican party in 2024—black, Hispanic, union workers, suburban moms. They didn’t come over because they suddenly fell in love with elephants. They came over because they were tired of an agenda that felt alien to them. They wanted common sense. They wanted safe streets. They wanted to be able to afford gas and groceries without taking out a second mortgage.
This bill is the answer to their prayers. This bill is for them.
So, what’s really in this thing that has the talking heads so riled up? Let’s look past the performance and get to the results, as the Speaker said.
For starters, this bill puts an average of $10,000 back in the pockets of working and middle-class families. That ain’t Wall Street money; that’s little league money, braces money, fix-the-transmission money. It declares that the tips our waiters and hairstylists earn are theirs, not the government’s to take. It allows small businesses—the lifeblood of our towns—to write off 100% of their investments, encouraging them to build and hire right here at home.
And you know what else it does? It strengthens the safety nets like Medicaid and SNAP. It does this by making sure those benefits go to the folks who truly need them—the disabled, our seniors, single mothers, and children. It simply asks that able-bodied folks who can work, should work. That’s not punishment; that’s restoring dignity. That’s returning to the common sense your grandpa lived by.
The media can spin that all day long, but those are the facts. Those are the simple truths.
Now, I’m not naive. I know some of y’all are reading this and thinking, “Dean, that all sounds good, but talk is cheap.” And you’re right. It is. The Democrats can talk for 25 hours about what they think will happen, and we can talk for 25 hours about what we hope will happen. But at the end of the day, the proof is always in the pudding.
And I have faith in this pudding.
I have faith that a year from now, when families are looking at their bank accounts, they’ll see the difference. I have faith that when our communities are safer because our border is finally secure and our law enforcement officers are supported, people will feel the difference. I have faith that the simple truth will shine so bright that the media won’t have enough shade to cover it up anymore.
As Speaker Johnson wrapped up his speech, with the chamber chanting “USA! USA!”, he brought it all home. He pointed to the words above the Speaker’s chair: “In God We Trust.” He reminded us all that our Founders knew the secret sauce. Our rights don’t come from a politician or a piece of paper. They come from God Almighty. And a government that remembers that is a government that will always, ultimately, serve its people.
Today, on our 249th birthday, our President is signing that bill into law. It’s more than just a piece of legislation; it’s a promise renewed. It’s another cornerstone, laid with hope, for a future where America is stronger, safer, and more prosperous for every single one of us. The best is yet to come.
Happy Birthday, America. God bless y’all, and God bless the USA.
—Dean Burnette
Citations:
Very well stated!
This morning, my son asked me, What I thought was the most important line from the Declaration?
I answered, “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”
This is probably the best known line from the Declaration & I think it is the 1 that is most relevant, Because, bottom line, this 1 line sums up that our Country was founded on the belief that we are ALL Created! > equally by God, that WE have Rights that are “unalienable” because they were endowed to us by God!
Our entire existence, as a nation and individually, only came about because of God’s Blessing.