The 4th of July

In just a few days, it will be the 4^th of July.  Scenes of picnics, parades and fireworks will be everywhere.  It is the day we set apart from all others, to honor the anniversary of the birth of our nation.  It is the day America declared our independence. 

Do we ever reflect on the hardship and terror that the early Americans must have lived through day after day?  Do we truly understand the hopes and dreams that lay secretly hidden away in the hearts of the people back then?

On July 4^th, 1776, America started an insurrection against the king.  Thirteen years before, back in 1763, England instituted a series of taxes and policies that not only hindered trade and economic growth in the colonies, but without representation in Parliament, also violated their rights as English subjects.

It took the early Americans 9 years to fully understand the futility of appealing to England, all the while enduring the heavy hand of the king.  In 1775, our Congress was declared traitorous and British troops, sent to quell the uprising met resistance from the colonial militia and the Revolutionary War began.

One year later, representatives from all 13 colonies voted unanimously to adopt a Declaration of Independence and break free from the yoke of England.

It took another 7 years of fighting until in 1781, when America claimed victory and in 1783, the Treaty of Paris was signed acknowledging America as an independent nation.

On July 4^th, 1776, America formally and boldly proclaimed to the entire world that we would no longer consider ourselves subjects of the British Empire.

So each year, what we celebrate for one day, on July 4^th, was in truth, a 20 year struggle for independence.  Our Declaration of Independence stands today as one of the most profound declarations ever written.

Perhaps the most famous line from the Declaration of Independence is . . .

“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.”

For most Americans, these are the most powerful words in American history.  Never before in the history of the world was the idea of personal rights and freedom for all men been given such a stage…  Up until this time, all rights were “granted” as favors from the king or leader and could be revoked should favor turn from you.

This idea of unalienable rights, this marvelous truth, that we hold so dear, was mocked and ridiculed by the entire known civilized world.  We were hated for it from every center of the globe.  In fact, America is still hated for it in many places.

Judge William Young, the presiding judge at Richard Reid’s sentencing stated, “It seems to me, you hate the one thing that to us is most precious.  You hate our freedom.  Our individual freedom.  Our individual freedom to live as we choose, to come and go as we choose, to believe or not believe as we individually choose.  Here, in this society, the very wind carries freedom.  It carries it everywhere from sea to shining sea.”

Later Judge Young states, “It is yet true that we will bear any burden; pay any price, to preserve our freedoms. . . See that flag, Mr. Reid?  That’s the flag of the United States of America.  That flag will fly there long after this trial is forgotten.  That flag stands for freedom. And it always will.”

Granted, it is just a flag.  But it is the flag that represents the people of this country.  Old Glory is a symbol of us.  America is us.  We, the people of the United States of America are what makes this country, not the borders or the land, not the law or our property, not the government or the entitlements, just us.

As we look forward to our day of celebration this year, let it be more than a picnic or a barbecue, more than parades and fireworks.  Let us remember to reaffirm our own commitment to liberty and freedom.  Let us remember the meaning of the 4^th of July, the meaning of Independence Day.

The dream of a free and equal people burned brightly in the hearts of men back in 1776.  The love of this country by Americans should never be in doubt.  The love of freedom is expressed everyday by Americans who love this country and the principals of individual freedoms that it represents.  This hard fought freedom, this grand Independence, is what we hold dear and what the meaning of the 4^th of July truly is.

Finally, recognize that Americans fought hard, and far too many died, to gain these rights for us and that we have men and women fighting even now, to keep these rights secured.

May God Bless the USA!