It's our Independence Day

            For the last few weeks, red, white and blue have been everywhere. American flags wave from flower beds, street lamps and store fronts.

Fireworks stands pop up along the road, hyping Roman candles and bottle rockets, and grocery stores hype hot dogs, watermelon and apple pie on sale.  

            We understand we’re supposed to recognize the significance of the holiday, but it’s easy to lose sight of the historical significance of many of our holidays.

Memorial Day honors those who lost their lives in battle. Veterans Day honors veterans of the armed forces. July Fourth is the day America proclaimed her independence. Instead these days are often associated with gigantic store sales.

            So what do we know about the importance of July 4, 1776?

We know the colonists were tired of paying taxes to a king across the ocean.

We know Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin worked on the document that declared our intentions to become independent from Great Britain.

We know George Washington became the first president of the new country.

We forget, though, exactly what was at stake when the colonists publicly stated their desire for freedom, and we forget how much courage it took to make that stand.

            The colonists – who were really no more than poor farmers and struggling merchants – literally risked their lives to stand up to British troops who were the best and most prepared in the world.

            They fought a formidable army, won and then hammered out a constitution that would be fair to all. In one of their boldest acts, they signed their names to an act of defiance, a document we call the Declaration of Independence.

            How many of us when asked to sign a petition or put a sign in our yard hesitate because we don’t want anyone to know if we’re a Democrat or a Republican? How many of us have held our tongues when we know something is wrong but we do nothing?

 

Democracy in Action

            I was in Austin with journalism students the week before a controversial anti-abortion bill came up before the Texas legislature. These teens witnessed dozens of protestors chanting their support or condemnation of the bill.

            They were witnessing history, seeing people stand up for what they believed and willing to take the consequences of having their faces photographed and filmed.

The two sides are bitterly divided, but nobody is denying them the right to say what they think. In this country, we encourage freedom of thought and speech, and we’ve had our system tested, most harshly by terrorists on Sept. 11, 2001.  

            After the horror of 9/11, our country united. We worked together to rebuild what terrorists thought they could destroy.

We were misty-eyed when we heard “The Star Spangled Banner.” Soldiers in restaurants had their meals paid for by strangers. People remembered why and what the stars and stripes stood for.

            As we watch the fireworks tonight, instead of marveling at the pretty colors, let’s remember the celebration is symbolic of the explosion of ideas that took place in people’s hearts and minds 237 years ago.

They hungered for freedom and were willing to use whatever means they had to achieve that goal. Too many people have put their lives on the line to fight for and preserve that freedom.

And remember the Fourth of July is much more than a sale or a barbecue and much more than lighting up the sky.  

            The Fourth of July is the day we took a stand for what we believed.

            America. Long may she live.  

 This column was originally published in The Fort Bend Herald.