As you gather with friends and family this weekend, grill food, relax during the long summer days, enjoy the amazing firework displays provided by municipalities and private organizations, but most importantly take a minute to stop and reflect on why this day is celebrated coast to coast by millions of Americans.
In the summer of 1776, representatives from the British-American Colonies signed the Declaration of Independence. The signing of this document was the culmination of long discussions, philosophical debates, and a review of both the history of the Colonies and of nations throughout recorded history. The purpose of the document was to initially, yet quite briefly, declare the philosophical and political underpinnings of the American people. What followed was a litany of abuses which the representatives felt were perpetrated upon them by the King of Britain and his government.
The language used by the authors of the Declaration was beautiful, brilliant, and displayed a wisdom that could only come from intellectually rigorous study of governments and history along with an amazing ability to perceive the nature of man.
Please take a few moments to read the Declaration of Independence. If you do, read it slowly. Pay attention to the words that they chose to capitalize. Think about the enormous meaning of the words, even though they use concise language. Read their understanding of where rights come from and why, in exceptional times, the people must rise up to protect those rights. Allow yourself to imagine what they must have felt at the time of signing – fear, exhilaration, escape from tyranny, power. And lastly, remember just how revolutionary the thoughts and words really were in a world dominated by monarchs, theocrats, and various other governments that controlled their subjects instead of governing on behalf of the populace.
You can read the document at the following website: http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/document/index.htm. I hope each of you enjoy this as much as I do. Have a happy, safe, and reflective holiday.
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I read through the Declaration for the first time in several years. This is a good thing to do every so often to remind us of what this country was founded on and the struggles that our founding fathers went through to provide the opportunities and way of life that we know today. I enjoyed the weekend so much more with this thought in my mind as I watched the fireworks, hung out by the pool and cooked out. Happy 4th!
ReplyDeleteI have not read this since high school and it is truly amazing to be reminded why we are free and what our forefathers did to make it happen. Some lines I read made me think that what is happening in our government today appears to be along similar lines as to what our forefathers went through.
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