Sunday, July 5, 2020
By:
While there are many things that I could talk about on this day, today is a day of remembrance. You might ask what we are to remember? Two Hundred Forty-Four years ago, our forefathers founded this country. While everyone will agree that this country is not perfect, we can also agree that it is our country. The laws set down all those years ago are what give us the rights that we enjoy today. Thomas Jefferson said it best when he penned the words, "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." These words, while many may debate the intent, still hold true today. It does not matter the color of your skin, the country of your ancestry, how you choose to worship, or to what gender you identify, we all were created with the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
In a time when turmoil spans this great nation, and pandemic grips the throats of humanity, it is all the more prevalent that we should hold this day in remembrance. With each passing day, we must recognize the blood, the sweat, and the tears of every American who has labored to give us the freedoms that we currently enjoy. These freedoms are what make America the nation that she is, and are what separates us from any other nation. In towns all across the country, the celebration of this great day has been placed on hold. John Adams once penned these words, "[Independence Day] will be the most memorable Epocha, in the History of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more. " While these celebrations have been removed from many areas, others still continue. But even then, we must celebrate the freedoms we have within each and every home in this great land. I speak not for any reason other than the desire to always keep these freedoms.
If this great nation is to continue, it won't be politicians and lawmakers that keep us free. It is the duty of every American to remember that each of us has the same rights and liberties. The equality of each of us, though not always practiced, was stated in our founding documents and must be what we continue to strive for today. By joining hands with your neighbors, and your neighborhoods, in your cities, across every state and in every corner of the nation "we the people" can ensure that the America of tomorrow will continue to be better than the America of yesterday and will be a land in which our future generations can be proud to say, "We celebrate the fact, that on this day America was founded, and we are American.
Joseph Dees