Posted on 07/04/2021 7:01:48 AM PDT by Kaslin
On Christmas, we don’t say, “Happy December 25th!” We say, “Merry Christmas!” On Halloween, we don’t say, “Happy October 31st!” We say, “Happy Halloween!”
So why is it that more and more Americans are prone to say, “Happy 4th of July!” as opposed to “Happy Independence Day!”?
Yes, this is somewhat anecdotal. No, I do not have hard data to demonstrate that “Happy Independence Day” is going the way of the dinosaurs.
However, I have noticed that in the past few years, many Americans seem less cognizant that July 4 is about the national celebration of our official break from British tyranny than it is about having a big barbeque, watching fireworks, or having fun in the sun.
Consider. In 2011, only 58 percent of Americans actually knew that July 4, 1776, was the official date of our nation’s independence. I have a sneaking suspicion that number would probably be even lower if the poll were conducted today.
Perhaps this Independence Day we should take a look back at what transpired in and around that magical day in 1776.
First, it should be known that declaring independence from Great Britain was not a foregone conclusion. The Continental Congress was very divided on the issue. It took months of heated debate before the ultimate decision, a monumental decision that would change the course of human events forever, was made in favor of severing the bond with the Crown.
Second, each and every Independence Day, we should revisit one of the greatest documents in human history: The Declaration of Independence.
We should especially focus on these 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.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to affect their Safety and Happiness.”
For that is the embodiment of the American spirit and the primary reason that our brave forefathers put everything on the line so that future generations could live freely.
Third, given the turmoil and division that has engulfed America in recent years, we should pay particular attention to what we have in common, instead of what drives us apart.
And one of the most basic commonalities that all Americans share, and ought to celebrate on Independence Day, is our unfettered freedom.
For freedom is not the natural state of affairs. Actually, freedom is the rare exception.
Throughout the vast swath of history, people have lived under governments that restricted personal freedom. The United States, on the other hand, was founded upon the principle that “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” is a God-given, not government-given, right.
And this is by no means set in stone. It is necessary that each generation recognizes this awesome achievement so that it is cherished and bestowed to future generations.
Yet, I am concerned that the acknowledgment of this glorious triumph for human freedom (and dignity) is being disregarded with each passing year.
More and more, we see polls showing that Americans do not believe the United States is an exceptional country. Or that free-market capitalism is not superior to collectivism. Astonishingly, we even see Americans rejecting the premise of the Declaration of Independence.
John Adams, one of the prominent figures in the fight for American liberty, had a very different view than many modern Americans on what Independence Day actually means,
As Adams said, “[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.”
This Independence Day we should hearken back to the spirit of 1776 and celebrate our nation’s independence in all its splendor.
From wikipedia:
Open warfare erupted when British regulars sent to capture a cache of military supplies were confronted by local Patriot militia at Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775. Patriot militia, joined by the newly formed Continental Army, then put British forces in Boston under siege. Each colony formed a Provincial Congress, which assumed power from the former colonial governments, suppressed Loyalism, and contributed to the Continental Army led by General George Washington. The Continental Congress declared King George III a tyrant who trampled the colonists' rights as Englishmen, and they declared the colonies free and independent states on July 4, 1776.
Happy Independence Day!
Why the barf alert? The guy is 100% right. The official name of this federal holiday is INDEPENDENCE DAY.
Well, simply looking at just the most recent usurpation of liberties by the royals in Washington and the various state capitals, there ain’t much “Independence” or liberty left.
So I will stick with “Happy 4th of July” for now.
Barf alert??? Independence Day (not In dependence) is correct.
RATs would rather erase the holiday completely and have us celebrate Dependence Day instead.
I find it to be nothing more than a Raised Eyebrow Alert
I hear ya. I’ll still say Independence Day but I can’t say as I’m really feeling it.
It took a 1/2 cent tax on tea to start a revolution. Today we take hundreds of dollars of taxes a month and don’t complain. Government was suppose to be OF the people and FOR the people. Today, Government DICTATES TO THE PEOPLE and sadly, the people are just taking it. We have truly lost our way. It started when we threw GOD out of every walk of life in this nation. God’s hedge of protection is being withdrawn and we are falling off the planet. We are failing at most everything we do. Led by corrupt government officials from the Deadhead in the White House down to the local mayors.
I don’t understand the “barf alert”...I DO understand “4th Of July” and “Independence Day”...neither of which are “barfs”...
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Happy Insurrection Day!
I really think the average IQ on this website has dropped by 25 points since I joined FR in 2000.
What’s most pathetic is that we have plenty of these people right here on FR.
The other has a reasonable point about contemporary ignorance, but I agree with the barf alert when it comes to the focus on what people call the day. I just checked and there were plenty of references to it being the 4th of July during highly patriotic points in this country such as the 1950s.
*author, not other
The 4th of July is a date on a calendar. Independence Day is a commemoration of an historical event; the birth of a new nation.
I guess we should just call Memorial Day “Last Monday of May Day.”
So to check this out, I did a subject search on Independence Day using the online catalog of the the Los Angeles Public Library, which uses LCSH, as do all public libraries. The first results that I retrieved were two books on Mexican independence day followed by one on Ukrainian independence day. Among my other results were books on Irish independence and judicial independence. Not one of the books on the first page of my results was about Independence Day.
I did a little better when I did a subject search using the "Independence Day" subject heading for books on Worldcat, the international database of library catalogs. That search retrieved one book on Independence Day, which was second from the top. However, the book at the top of the list was one about the movie Independence Day, which I don't believe is about the holiday. I also retrieved seeral books on Greek independence day as well one on Israel's independence day.
In 1776 the poorest people weren’t the most likely to be obese. In 2021 they are. People that are the fattest, most comfortable and passively entertained in all of history will pretty much tolerate anything as long as they can stay fat, comfortable and entertained. And as you point out, faith doesn’t seem to prosper under these conditions.
Freegards
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