4th of July

Ben Franklin and Thomas Jefferson with me after reading the Declaration of Indepenedence!

Packing the car and getting ready to head to the mountains for our annual 4th of July trip I have many thoughts on my mind. I have everything ready and a stack of books to read for future articles. My mind is already writing a few of them. As I was prioritizing the articles I thought to myself,” I need to write something about the 4th of July.”

What does this holiday mean to me? Several years ago before my political conversion and awakening it was just a fun summer holiday. It has always been one of my favorites. I love the celebration of freedom, parades and fireworks. Over the past several years this holiday has grown to mean more to me. I have learned that freedom is very precious and can be taken away in the blink of an eye. I feel that we are on the brink of that happening in our dear America.

Since this awakening, I still enjoy the parades and fireworks but I treasure the small things as well. I’m looking forward to the Declaration of Independence being read this year. Last year I remember catching the end of the reading. I walked by, heard it and knew immediately what it was. I stopped my family from walking any further. I also remember being infuriated when others were not stopping to listen and/or paying attention. I wanted to stop them! I wanted to shake them! I wanted to shout at the top of my lungs,” Don’t you people know what this is? Don’t you know that without this document and the Constitution we would not be here today?” My heart began to break for our country in a different light that day.

Did you know that the first 4th of July, also known as Independence Day, was celebrated on July 4th, 1776? The main reason the U.S. declared independence was because we were taxed without representation. There were 56 people who signed the Declaration of Independence which was signed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The first seven words of the Declaration of Independence are, “When in the course of human events.” The Second Continental Congress approved the Declaration of Independence and the largest signature on the document was John Hancock’s.

Now some fun facts about this wonderful American holiday. Americans consume 150 million hotdogs on July 4th each year. Americans spend around 211 million dollars every year on fireworks. The Chinese invented fireworks. The Fourth of July became an unpaid holiday for federal workers in 1870. In 1938 it became a paid holiday, and in 1941, it was declared a federal holiday.

As we gather with our families to enjoy this holiday, I encourage all of us not to forget the “little” things. We must not forget the Declaration of Independence, the signers and all they went through. We must not forget the blood, sweat and tears that have brought us to where we are today. Most importantly, we must not forget that we are free today but it could be taken away at any moment. We must give thanks to God for His gracious blessing on this nation. We must ask Him to return His hand upon us before it’s too late. God Bless America!

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