New Thought Philly Sunday Inspiration
Jul 5, 2026 · 15 min · 9 segments
Our Declaration of Independence is filled with powerful words, among the most powerful the idea the "we hold these truths ...
One of the things that Thomas Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence is one of the most brash phrases I think that anybody has ever used.
And it's the beginning of the second paragraph, or the beginning of the declaration if the first paragraph is the preamble.
"We hold these truths to be self-evident." Self-evident.
Now, the, [clears throat] that is really powerful because what he was claiming stuff that was not actually self-evident at the time, and even 250 years later is not completely self-evident.
But if you start your s- your, your sentence with, "We hold these truths to be self-evident," you're making, first of all, a really bold claim, and then you're probably gonna distract people by what you claim next, so they're gonna argue about that rather than the claim that they're self-evident.
"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 is some powerful language, and that's our founding document.
And the first paragraph of the Declaration of Independence was actually the preamble.
That's what Congress basically decided in May.
They were gonna send Jefferson and the, the, the committee off to write, and what comes afterwards is what they came back and wrote.
The preamble, "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 require that they should declare the causes which impels them to the separation." Another bold claim.
And the reason that I mention that that's a bold claim is because up until then, it had never happened before.
Nobody in history had ever broken away from the ruling power.
There had been wars, there had been takeovers, but nobody had just said, "You know, we're done with this and we're out of here." And yet there they were, saying that they were not only doing that, but they had some really good reasons why.
When you claim a truth to be self-evident, that is a big, bold claim, and is actually, it is metaphysical.
You are claiming something that may or m- may not be true in the world around you right now, but you're claiming it and you're putting your energy behind it.
And words is important.
One of the things that Thomas Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence is one of the most brash phrases I think that anybody has ever used.
And it's the beginning of the second paragraph, or the beginning of the declaration if the first paragraph is the preamble.
"We hold these truths to be self-evident." Self-evident.
Now, the, [clears throat] that is really powerful because what he was claiming stuff that was not actually self-evident at the time, and even 250 years later is not completely self-evident.
But if you start your s- your, your sentence with, "We hold these truths to be self-evident," you're making, first of all, a really bold claim, and then you're probably gonna distract people by what you claim next, so they're gonna argue about that rather than the claim that they're self-evident.
"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 is some powerful language, and that's our founding document.
And the first paragraph of the Declaration of Independence was actually the preamble.
That's what Congress basically decided in May.
They were gonna send Jefferson and the, the, the committee off to write, and what comes afterwards is what they came back and wrote.
The preamble, "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 require that they should declare the causes which impels them to the separation." Another bold claim.
And the reason that I mention that that's a bold claim is because up until then, it had never happened before.
Nobody in history had ever broken away from the ruling power.
There had been wars, there had been takeovers, but nobody had just said, "You know, we're done with this and we're out of here." And yet there they were, saying that they were not only doing that, but they had some really good reasons why.
When you claim a truth to be self-evident, that is a big, bold claim, and is actually, it is metaphysical.
You are claiming something that may or m- may not be true in the world around you right now, but you're claiming it and you're putting your energy behind it.
And words is important.
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