It was a war America wasn't supposed to win. 250 years ago this week, a handful of colonists with no army, no navy, and no real plan took on the most powerful empire on earth — and somehow won. What came after wasn't guaranteed either: limited government, individual liberty, the idea that rights come from God, not rulers. All of it had to be fought for first, and figured out after. Warren Buffett has said America's poor today live better than the richest man in the country did in his own childhood. That's not an accident — it's 250 years of decisions, sacrifice, and freedom compounding. This week, before the fireworks, it's worth asking: what are we doing with what we inherited?