A Happy Independence Day to all and sundry citizens of the United States of America!
Notice I do not say "Fourth of July." Everyone has a fourth of July. Even Great Britain.
And if you do not understand why I single out Great Britain, you are (unfortunately and sadly) in good company, with approximately 25% of the citizens of the US of A. At least according to a recent poll.
May you be safe in your revels. Try not to blow off any body parts (I speak from personal experience as a childhood friend nearly blew his hand off with fireworks. I myself burned myself quite badly with a sparkler I thought was spent; I learned differently when a piece fell on my sandal-clad foot and badly burned two toes.)
May you remember not just our freedoms, rights, and gifts we enjoy as citizens, but also those who fought (and those who died) for the defense of the US of A and those freedoms, rights, and gifts. Take some time in the next 24 hours to read about those freedoms, rights, and gifts; there are plenty of places.... Try here for example.
May you remember who put their lives on the line some 235 years ago, committing treason to do so, and signed a document hitherto unknown in the history of our world. These brave men...these heroes...their names are as follows:
Delaware
•George Read •Caesar Rodney •Thomas McKean
Pennsylvania
•George Clymer •Benjamin Franklin •Robert Morris •John Morton •Benjamin Rush •George Ross •James Smith •James Wilson •George Taylor
Massachusetts
•John Adams •Samuel Adams •John Hancock •Robert Treat Paine •Elbridge Gerry
New Hampshire
• Josiah Bartlett •William Whipple •Matthew Thornton
Rhode Island
•Stephen Hopkins •William Ellery
New York
•Lewis Morris •Philip Livingston •Francis Lewis •William Floyd
Georgia
•Button Gwinnett •Lyman Hall •George Walton
Virginia
•Richard Henry Lee •Francis Lightfoot Lee •Carter Braxton •Benjamin Harrison •Thomas Jefferson •George Wythe •Thomas Nelson, Jr.
North Carolina
•William Hooper •John Penn •Joseph Hewes
South Carolina
•Edward Rutledge •Arthur Middleton •Thomas Lynch, Jr. •Thomas Heyward, Jr.
New Jersey
•Abraham Clark •John Hart •Francis Hopkinson •Richard Stockton •John Witherspoon
Connecticut
•Samuel Huntington •Roger Sherman •William Williams •Oliver Wolcott
Maryland
•Charles Carroll •Samuel Chase •Thomas Stone •William Paca
In fact, take some time and learn about these heroes. This site is a good place to start.
But you should not stop there. Remember the document itself. That piece of parchment that declared thirteen colonies' independence from a distant king. Join me, my LW, and the Horde as we read the words together first thing tomorrow morning. These are words, along with the Constitution, that should never be forgotten.
Never.
With a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, I pledge to these principles, my Life, my Fortune, and my sacred Honor.
Happy Independence Day.... A Happy Birthday to the Greatest Country on Earth. We may have some problems, but we are a darn sight better than the alternatives.
And as you prepare to label me a "jingoist," let me just say: go right ahead. That is your right to believe and speak as you wish.
That is all part of what we are celebrating.
1 comment:
Thanks for bringing Independence Day back to it's roots. Like Christmas it is easy to get caught up in the modern day events and forget where and why the day was originally singled out.
I too am an attorney, not in a small firm but corporate counsel, and not as down-trodden as you, but like you I have been extolling the virtues and divine providence of the Constitution for many years and have been largely unnoticed. Good Luck!
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