Happy Independence Day – Open Thread
I am sorry this got up so late but I got in the middle of my own celebration and forgot to wish you all a Happy Independence Day. it’s special here in New England, the birthplace of the fight for that independence. Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and yes Connecticut all played key roles in the fight that was to last years.
Feel free to post and share your feelings on this great day. I will keep this post up through tomorrow so I can be inspired by your writings. But for the moment, here are my thoughts.
I am sure, it must have seemed to those who inhabited this ground 200 years ago, that the war (1775-1783) would never end. And yes, the war was almost lost on numerous occasions. That is why General Washington and his men embody what it means to be uniquely American. When others saw defeat, he only saw victory, and somehow he managed to convince a bunch of frozen, bootless, tired men to reenlist right there on the spot, cross the Delaware into a British occupied New Jersey and bring the attack to the British. Amazing. We owe General Washington much, and the men, probably against their better judgement, who re-upped.
Massachusetts gave us John and Sam Adams (the latter one of my heroes), and the young men who gave their lives when the war was still in is infancy at Bunker Hill.
Connecticut gave us Nathan Hale, and Benedict Arnold, who, before he decided the war was lost, was a key General in the fight for freedom, including the capture of Fort Ticonderoga in 1775.
But Rhode Island, which has celebrated July 4th since 1785, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine (which was home to America’s first albeit, unofficial NAVY, using pirates and privateers), all have their revolutionary war heroes.
On this day, bow your head, for just a moment. Some very wealthy men, and many poor, but their lives and fortunes on the line for liberty, my liberty, your liberty. Young 15 year old boys died so that we, 200 years later, could live in freedom.
No, it is not faith that makes us American, as the President suggests. What makes Americans American is that unique spirit that lives deep within us … a spirit of liberty and individual freedom, and a willingness to fight to preserve it for us and future generations. A determination and strength to defend and protect all who call themselves American and all who will call themselves American from all tyranny, within and without our borders.
Today is the day to remember the patriots, the people who knew they could and would never give in to that tyranny, even a benevolent tyranny like Britain,
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Thank you for not saying "Happy 4th of July". Not that I assumed you would, of course!
America is an exceptional country. Let's work to keep it that way.
As I had spoken yesterday at the tea party rally in Hartford, at the northern steps of the state capitol, about leaders who are "focused" vs. leaders who are "clueless", the message of America's Independence Day is that we MUST ALWAYS stay focused in course of protecting and preserving our liberties.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA and Happy Independence Day to you Jim! :)=^..^=
Maybe it was the atmosphere, but I don't recall hearing a more inspiring rendition of our national anthem than I did yesterday at the Tea Party in Hartford.
I feel as if we, as a Nation, are suffering from a severe case of dementia. Forgotten are the freedoms won by the Sacrifice and Dedication by a group of people who understood tyranny and wanted to abolish it. Our advancement as a civil society guided by the founding principles is unprecedented. We rid ourselves of slavery and inequities that were, in part, advanced and imposed by some of our past representatives and leaders that strayed from the ideals agreed upon over 200 years ago. One by one, the barriers that remained in our social construct fell by the wayside because we finally lived up to our founding principles – Jews and Christians, blacks and whites, etc. can now freely marry. More, than any other country. we give freely to causes outside our country for humane reasons and to advance liberty around the world, understanding that free people do not fight one another. Thus, freedom for all is not only the least that every humane deserves, but is the only way to lasting peace among nations.
Yet our schools and too many of our leaders and institutions want to define our nation by its past struggles instead of its pursuit to overcome them. So we are still the polluters of our industrial beginning and not our advancement of clean air and water technology. We are the oppressors and not the liberators. We are the example of what is bad in the world, not what is good.
So, like 200+ years ago, we find ourselves faced with forces that resemble tyranny rather than liberty, yet the threat now is from within. So our cause is not to take up arms to rid the homeland of oppressors, but to awaken our brethren to the wonderful history they’ve either forgotten or were never taught.
Take heart, the numbers are in our favor, just not yet in Congress. If we keep our focus on our founding principles and share them passionately, we can anxiously look forward to the winds of November change. May God bless the USA and people resigned to freedom everywhere.
Well said, John.
PS: SOS, your bro would be happy to know, I got to meet Edwina, the wonderful lady whose father was the WW 2 war hero at the Hartford state capitol tea party rally this past Sunday, July 4th. It was truly a treat indeed. :)=^..^=
Thank-you John for making my day/night with your in-depth comentary.