A Personal Note from Cam - Dated July 2, 2026

A Personal Note from Cam – Dated July 2, 2026

I hope all is well with you and your loved ones.

As I write this Note, we are a few days away from the 250^th celebration of the birth of the United States of America.  This is a significant milestone.

I clearly remember when we celebrated America’s 200^th birthday.  I had just graduated from college and was a proud military officer, having been commissioned an Ensign, just a month before, and was proudly serving in the United States Navy in July, 1976.

And, 1976 was a massive turning point across geopolitics, technology, and pop culture.  It marked the end of major eras, the birth of modern tech giants, and a distinct shift in global dynamics.

Here is a recap of what was going on in the world in 1976:

Global Politics & Significant Conflicts

• The Death of Mao Zedong: In September, Chairman Mao Zedong passed away at age 82.  His death ended a massive political era in China and sparked a power struggle within the Chinese Communist Party before the country ultimately shifted toward economic moderation.
• The Entebbe Raid: In July, Palestinian militants hijacked an Air France plane and forced it to land in Entebbe, Uganda.  In a legendary counter-terrorism operation, Israeli airborne commandos launched a daring rescue mission, successfully freeing over 100 hostages.
• Apartheid Protests in South Africa: June saw the Soweto Uprising, where thousands of Black students protested a government decree forcing the use of Afrikaans in schools.  Massive police retaliation resulted in hundreds of deaths, causing international outrage and drawing 17 African nations to boycott the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal.
• The Khmer Rouge Regime: In Cambodia, Pol Pot officially renamed the country "Democratic Kampuchea" and established a brutal communist dictatorship that would eventually lead to the Cambodian Genocide.

The United States: Celebrations & Elections

• The Bicentennial: On July 4th, the U.S. celebrated its 200th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence with massive coast-to-coast celebrations, tall ship parades, and fireworks.
• The 1976 Presidential Election: In November, Washington outsider and former Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter defeated the incumbent President Gerald Ford in a tight election, capitalizing on public desire for political reform following the Watergate scandal.
• The Rise of True Crime Lore: A streak of fear hit New York City as the infamous serial killer who dubbed himself the "Son of Sam" (David Berkowitz) began his random and terrifying public shootings.

Science, Tech & The Birth of the Digital Age

• The Birth of Apple: On April 1st, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak formed the Apple Computer Company, assembling their first personal computer kits.  Meanwhile, Microsoft registered as an official corporation later that November.
• Life on Mars: NASA’s Viking 1 spacecraft successfully landed on Mars in July, sending back the very first close-up, color photographs of the red planet's surface (and the famous "Face on Mars" optical illusion).
• Supersonic Air Travel: The Concorde jet made its first regular commercial flights, operated by Air France and British Airways, cutting transatlantic travel times to a mere three hours.
• Disappearance of a Legend: Famed aviator, billionaire, and eccentric recluse Howard Hughes passed away while in transit on a flight to Houston.

Culture, Sports & Entertainment

• Olympic Perfection: At the Summer Olympics in Montreal, 14-year-old Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci made history by scoring the first-ever perfect 10.0 on the uneven bars.  She went on to earn seven perfect scores during the games.
• A New Era for Wine: The famous "Judgment of Paris" blind taste test took place, where California wines shockingly beat out top-tier French wines, completely upending the global wine industry.
• Box Office and Music Gold: In theaters, audiences were watching Taxi Driver, Network, and Rocky (which began filming in January).  On the radio, Stevie Wonder dropped his masterpiece album Songs in the Key of Life, while the TV show The Muppet Show made its premiere.

Let’s now revisit six pivotal moments in the birth of America, often called Flashpoints of Freedom.  These Flashpoints occurred over a 26-year period, from 1761 through 1787.  Combined, they have given the world the longest-running experiment in self-government.

Flashpoints of Freedom^[1]

Warrantless searches, a shocking engraving and a shot heard “round the world” are among six pivotal moments on the road to revolution and the founding of the United States of America.

February 24, 1761. In a five-hour courtroom speech, lawyer James Otis, representing a group of Boston merchants, argues that the writs of assistance—which authorized British officials to search for smuggled goods with a warrant—are “unconstitutional.”  John Adams later considered this the true start of the American Revolution.

March 22, 1765. With the Stamp Act, parliament imposes a direct tax on printed materials such as newspapers and pamphlets, igniting outrage over taxation without representation.  Delegates from nine colonies meet in New York to mount a unified protest, paving the way for the Continental Congress, America’s first national government.

March 5, 1770.  British soldiers fire into a taunting crowd in Boston, killing five colonists.  Paul Revere’s widely circulated print of the scene helps turn the bloodshed into a rallying cry against British rule.

April 19, 1775.  An unidentified shot at Lexington, Massachusetts, ignites the first fighting between British troops and colonial militiamen.  By day’s end, the Redcoats are retreating to Boston under relentless colonial fire. The Revolutionary War has begun.

July 4, 1776. In Philadelphia, the Second Continental Congress adopts the Declaration of Independence, severing the colonies’ ties to Britian, casting King George as a tyrant and proclaiming that “all men are created equal.”

September 17, 1787. Delegates sign the Constitution of the Unites States in Philadelphia, creating the framework for a new federal government.  Ratified the following year, it begins one of the world’s longest-running experiments in self-government.

Happy 250^th Birthday America!

For at least the last 40 years, as we near the 4^th of July, I continue to annually read The Declaration of Independence, The Constitution of the United States and The Bill of Rights and all Amendments.

I am reminded time and again, that the Declaration of Independence is among the most important pieces of writing in human history.

For America, it acted as our birth certificate.  For other countries around the globe, it has acted as a blueprint for their own dreams.  In fact, more than half the countries in the United Nations have a foundational document they call a ‘declaration of independence.’

Without question, much has changed in the 250 years that have passed since the Declaration.  The United States has claimed new territory and gone to war many times, even with itself.

It has explored space, and is the only country to land man on the moon and successfully bring him back to earth.  Our citizens have invented so many things, from the lightbulb, to the airplane, the assembly line, transistors, internet, as well as jazz, rock ‘n’ roll and rap…to name but a few items.

I believe in the last 50 years Apples iPhone is perhaps the greatest invention, something available to almost everyone, around the globe.

Fifty years ago, the parts that go into a smartphone could not be bought at any price, by anyone. Today, so many of us have gotten so used to the miracle that we get irritated when our phone buffers and we have to look at the spinning wheel for a few seconds!

The chip inside a current iPhone or Android can do over a trillion operations per second and it has battery power for a full day, all the while sitting in your pant pocket or purse.

Think about what your phone does:

It acts as a camera.  A video camcorder.  A GPS navigation unit.  A Walkman and binder of CDs.  A television and VCR.  A landline phone with a long-distance plan.  A pocket calculator.  A voice recorder.  A pager.  A compass.  A flashlight.  A pocket calendar.  A stack of paper maps and a road atlas.  A set of encyclopedias.  A shelf of reference books.  A handheld video game.  A photo album, plus the film, plus the developing fees, forever.

And what about all of the applications, that make life so much easier, including:

Turn-by turn navigation that watches live traffic and reroutes you around a jam before you hit it.  A video call to the other side of the world in your hand, for free.  Instant translation of a menu, a sign or a stranger’s sentence, in a language you have never studied.  You can get the entire recorded musical output of human history, available on a whim.  You can also search a library larger than one could ever dream of, searchable in a quarter-second.

The fact is, for each of us that now own a smartphone, thirty years ago it would have cost millions of dollars, occupied a room, and been reserved for world governments.

I share a quick anecdote.  I left the Navy in October 1980 and went to work for the Lockheed California Company at their Kelly Johnson Research and Development Center located in Santa Clarita, California.

One of my prime responsibilities at the time was oversite of 15 research projects that were in progress at the facility.

The computer system the laboratory used was a Xerox Sigma series, 32-bit mainframe computer.  It was designed for heavy scientific and real-time processing.  The computer relied on batch processing, meaning you had key-punch data onto cards that were then fed through a card reader into the computer.

The Sigma system was massive, taking up the physical footprint of an entire room.

This was the computer system I used to manage the research projects I was responsible for.

The iPhone I have has more computing power than the Sigma computer Lockheed used back in the 1980’s!

There you have it.  We take our smartphones everywhere.  The smartphone represents the single most astonishing progress any generation of human beings has ever lived through.  And that is the marvel of the supercomputer in your hand.

Without question, the pace of what has occurred during the past 250 years is staggering.  One can only imagine what the next 250 years will look like.

If you have questions on what I have shared, please call the office.  Trevor and I look forward to talking with you.

Thank you for the trust you have bestowed upon our entire team.

Best wishes,

Cam

Disclosures:

Securities offered through Cetera Wealth Services, LLC (doing insurance business in CA as CFGAN Insurance Agency LLC, CA Insurance Lic# 0644976), member FINRA/SIPC.  Advisory services offered through Cetera Investment Advisers, LLC and CTA Wealth Advisors, Inc., both registered investment advisers.  Cetera is under separate ownership from any other named entity.

The information provided is educational and general in nature and is not intended to be, nor should it be construed as, specific investment, tax, or legal advice.  Individuals should seek advice from their wealth advisor or other advisors before undertaking actions in response to the matters discussed.  No client or prospective should assume the above information serves as the receipt of, or substitute for, personalized individual advice.

The opinions expressed in this letter are those of Cameron M. Thornton, CFP®.  All information is believed to be from reliable sources; however, we make no representation as to its completeness or accuracy.  All economic and performance information is historical and not indicative of future results.  Past performance does not guarantee results.

This is prepared referencing third party sources considered to be reliable; however, accuracy or completeness cannot be guaranteed. The information provided will not be updated any time after the date of publication. 

A diversified portfolio does not assure a profit or protect against loss in a declining market.
Cameron M. Thornton, CFP^® and Trevor M. Cole, CFP® are Registered Representatives with Cetera and may be reached at www.ctawealthadvisors.com or (818) 841-1746.