Rep. Neal Collins

My thoughts & prayers are with Senator Graham’s family, friends, & staff. Whether you agreed with him, disagreed with him, or found yourself doing both at different times, he cared deeply about South Carolina & our country. May he rest in peace.

The people of Easley celebrated their 250th … drop any other cool photos.

Today, 250 years ago, the British colonies declared their independence.

Most famously, the text provides, “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.”

In 11 years, the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution will state, “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union …”

As to all men are created equal, that was obviously not & still obviously not true.
Our foundational document does not say we are a perfect Union. However, we continue to strive for a “more perfect Union.” It’s a perfect goal in my opinion.

Reflect on equality 250 years ago compared to today. Hundreds of Native American tribes are on the frontier & will be forcefully removed or eradicated. Slavery existed. Women had few rights. White men were born into a landowning class system. Yet here we are today - not a perfect Union, but a more perfect Union.

As to “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness,” man has never been as healthy, free, wealthy in resources, or had the conveniences as today.

Reflect on our frustrations of today compared to 250 years ago. Not one paved road. Not one flushing toilet. No running water. No electricity. No stopped train. No grocery stores. No public education. Very little service jobs. Life expectancy was 35 with nearly half dying before age 5.

Nearly every complaint on social media today would have been an undreamed of luxury 250 years ago.

I may be in the minority, but I have no doubt that America will be more perfect 250 years from today than it is today just like we are more perfect today than we were. If given a choice, I’d much rather live during the quincentennial than the founding. Why? Because of the millions of Americans who want a better future for their children than themselves will make it so.

And yes, this is a great day to read history. The American Revolutionary War was won in South Carolina. We had our own tea party (and were far smarter with our tea than Bostonians wasting theirs). We had our own Paul Revere (Dicey Langston Springfield). We had the most battles & skirmishes than any other colony. We suffered defeats (Charleston, Eutaw Springs). However, we had significant people (Marion, Sumter, Pickens) leading rebellion. We had a decisive win (Cowpens). Ultimately the British Southern Strategy failed in South Carolina. Wear the license tag with pride!

It wasn’t a pretty war either. We fought Native Americans, but they fought with us. We fought free & unfree slaves, but free & unfree slaves fought with us. We fought foreign mercenaries, but foreigners fought with us. We had Loyalists and Patriots … in the same family. What a fascinatingly, complex era!

And all this progress, hypocrisy, history, trials, inventions, war, gains … occurred in just 10 generations! Imagine the next 10!

I wouldn’t want to have the extreme luck of being born anywhere else.

Happy Fourth!

(No part of the wording of this post was generated or edited by AI. The graphic is AI generated.)

Here is the Aaron Baker WYFF News 4 interview on South Carolina 250.

4 The Record: South Carolina 250 The SC 250 Commission has been working for years to promote the state's role in the American Revolution

Yesterday, all across the state, Carolina Day! I can't wait to see the rebuilt section of Fort Moultrie!

South Carolina 250

Carolina Days Chronicle: June 28, 2026 From Fort Moultrie to the Upstate, we got a chance to see how commu...