On 2 July 1776, the Continental Congress voted to approve a resolution which declared the colonies’ independence from Britain. Two days later, the final draft of the Declaration of Independence had been approved, and America’s independence was formally announced. (1)
In the succeeding years, the fledgling nation would nearly be snuffed out by the superpower of the age, but it persevered, despite the odds.
Today, we stop to pause and reflect on the sacrifice, commitment, strength, courage and vision of the men and women who risked and gave everything to create this nation, and to advance the unique idea 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.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed . . .
The staff at RevolverGuy wishes all of our fellow Americans a Happy Independence Day!
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NoteS
1. Although copies of the Declaration were distributed rather quickly in Philadelphia—and soon, greater Pennsylvania—it would take days for the news to spread to the other colonies. By order of General Washington, the Declaration was read to the Continental Army in New York on July 9th, and British newspapers were printing it by mid-August;
2. Featured image: The Declaration of Independence, by John Trumbull.
So…it’s not just a day off work to eat hot dogs and shoot firecrackers? Somebody needs to tell the millenials.
This day and age, it’s hard for a lot of people to fathom what we’re actually celebrating. I remember what I was taught about what the fireworks are supposed to represent. But I must be getting old; lately, the smoke after the pretty ‘boomies’ just looks like dollar signs to me. Ace
I don’t know, Ace. Back in April I attended a boot camp graduation at Parris Island, and I still make a living training airmen, soldiers, sailors, and Marines. The millennial generation prosecuted the first decade of the War on Terror and bore tens of thousands of casualties doing so, and the iGen after it is still producing fine young men and women who volunteer for service to their country in time of war. Come Monday I’ll be at Ft. Bragg doing a week of training for as many hard-chargers as we can cram in the classroom. Our veterans have never been more appreciated and respected than they are now. Though I don’t often accept a veteran’s discount or park in those veteran parking spaces, as a veteran I see the appreciation our country shows its military every day.
A man’s patriotism can be an awful hard thing to judge from the outside. You’d be hard pressed to find someone who loves his country more than I do. If you tried to judge my patriotism by the number of NineLineApparel tee-shirts I own (0), or whether or not I wear American flag socks (I would never place a likeness of the flag on my feet, despite “freedom” Friday), or the bumper stickers on my car (none), you might not even recognize it. Patriotism is an emotion, a thought-process, and it can be hard to see from the outside.
I think there’s still plenty of people out there who love their country – even plenty of young ones. The way they show it might look a little different, and on the whole we might not be as patriotic as we once were…but it’s not all bad, either.
Agreed. ‘Millinial’ (sp?) is one of those generalizations that I, and lots of other people, are guilty of using. Kinda like being a Baptist means I can’t enjoy peppy music–or at least I’m not allowed to tap my toes to it, lest I get accused of dancing.
Maybe ‘lefties’ would have been better? And I definitely agree with the sentiment of flags on socks–and shoes, t-shirts, bandanas, and so on . It’s not an item of clothing, and I consider it a mark of disrespect when people use it as such, regardless of their intention. Ace