The 4th

John Trumbull's famous painting, public domain claimed

Greetings All:

Happy 4th of July!  For those of you in the United States, it's a day to celebrate.  If you happen to be one of my UK readers, well, no hard feelings.  

Today is a day for parades, BBQs, fireworks and fun.  Unlike other years, the weather appears to be perfect.  This is lining up to be a super day.  I hope wherever you are in America, I hope you can celebrate it.  If you're overseas in uniform this 4th of July serving- thank you.  You being on the watch allows the rest of us to have fun.

The reason for this being Independence Day is the Declaration of Independence.  It's the document that told King George, "It's over."  It was the 18th Century version of "Un-friending" someone.  If you're so inclined, here's a link to the actual text:  

http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration_transcript.html


 

From the New York Public Library (& The New York Times) a photo of a copy of the Declaration of Independence hand-written by Thomas Jefferson, public domain/fair use claimed.

In my ongoing attempt to keep my blogs shorter, I want to highlight the closing line of this text:   

"And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor."

This was not some idle pledge.  For a number of the men who signed the document, life got really bad really fast.  If you'd like to read more about how this came to pass for some who signed the document, here's a link:

http://www.snopes.com/history/american/pricepaid.asp 

There were many heroes on the battlefield during the revolution.  George Washington did not sign the Declaration as he was...otherwise detained...with the actual war.  The link above reminds us that not everyone who carried a sword or fired a musket paid a price for liberty.  

Let's all take a moment to recall these men.  Then, by all means, return to the fun of the day.  After all, a part of the Declaration states that one of the rights that the Creator endowed was the pursuit of happiness.  Today should be spent, in large part, in that most noble (and fun) pursuit.  

Be well my friends (& safe around fireworks!),
Jeno