Reflections on Independence Day

This week when I was at Mackle Park, I was pleased with the level of summer activities by all of the young people on the island. They were attending classes and playing in the game rooms, and two young boys were playing basketball outside under the protection of the aeronasium just behind the Mackle Park Community building.

As I’ve sat here and thought about this week's Straight Talk column, my mind has drifted back to the carefree nature of the boys playing basketball and all those activities within the park. I thought about how that is related to the actions of the Constitutional Congress 248 years ago, what we will celebrate on Thursday, on what has come to be known as Independence Day or July 4th.

The Constitutional Congress had actually voted secretly on July 2 to declare independence from Great Britain. The Declaration of Independence was finally published on July 4, and the first public reading of the document was held on July 8. It was the first step in the creation of what we know today as the United States of America.

We would later see the creation of the Bill of Rights, as written by James Madison that guaranteed the constitutional protection for individual rights. Precursors to the Bill of Rights included English documents such as the Magna Carta, amongst others.

Seeing these boys play freely in a nation that had its origins in the eyes of visionaries from the 13 original states 248 years ago is kind of mind-boggling. To think ordinary men had a vision for a nation and system of governance that would endure during all these years and through all the challenges placed before it is a simply amazing task when one takes the time to think about the complexities of such a process.

Those two boys and the freedoms and opportunities they have been afforded them would only start as a dream for a better life for those who literally signed their death warrants by affixing their signatures to a document that is today revered around the world.

Over the years, the solemn legacy of our Founders is often pushed aside by our desires to enjoy but another holiday when we should instead take a moment to reflect on the wonder of their commitment to putting into motion such an incredible series of events which led to the people we are today.

This process created a nation of “patriots,” who have become looked upon as a nation of men and women who have come to be the leaders of the free world. A nation that has led by example. A nation whose example could be counted upon and relied upon in times of need. 

Americans should remember that as they celebrate July 4th, it is also called Independence Day for a reason. It should not be lost during the barbecues, fireworks celebrations, concerts, car sales, furniture deals, and the beach. This holiday has a deep-rooted meaning in freedom and the costs of that word.

As an individual, I see those two young boys playing on the basketball court as part of that wonderful legacy of those 56 patriots who signed their lives away so we might stand here today and bask in the warmth of independence and freedom. 

We as a people should be taking this “grand experiment” more seriously. We should be recommitting ourselves to the very courage that it took to make these fundamental decisions that have brought us to where we are today.

We should re-examine our commitment to the very fundamentals of what those men chose to put into motion. We seem to have taken for granted the great gift that was bestowed upon a people who, 248 years ago, may today be squandering a great gift that men such as Madison, Jefferson, Adams, and others saw as so important that they would sign their own death warrants to obtain. 

We have come to a time when we must show we are worthy of that gift, for truly, freedom is and never has been free. Our citizens must understand the need to respect the words of our forefathers and recommit ourselves to those principles of democracy and freedom and the responsibility to understand those words penned by men 248 years ago. 

I can only hope that we continue to revisit the meaning of America for all generations and celebrate the glorious gift that was given to us by men of great vision and courage. This Fourth of July, look up at our flag, which represents the freedoms we enjoy today, and recommit ourselves to those principles we find in our founding documents.

Happy Independence Day from all of us here at the Coastal Breeze News.