249 years... not very long in historic terms for a nation, but this is where the United States of America finds itself, good or bad, for better or worse.
Happy Birthday America !!
I couldn't let this day go by without commenting on Independence Day, or as the British call it, Treason Day.
Before the Declaration of Independence was written, mostly by Thomas Jefferson, before we were a Nation... the original colonies had existed under the boot of the English Monarchy for 167 years. The longer the British control lasted the more oppressive it became.
I won't rehash the entire conflict, causes, escalations or resentment of British oppression by the colonists. As Americans of a certain age group, we have been taught this since grade school.
What wasn't addressed in the public schools is who the Revolutionist were... From common farmers to business owners to colonial town leaders. This equated to a mere 3% of the population. A full 20% remained loyal to the Crown with the rest not wanting to get involved. But after decades of abuse orchestrated by King George and the British Parlement the Colonists had enough.
Meeting in secret the Sons of Liberty conspired against the Crown for relief from being hamstrung by increasing laws, tariffs and outright theft of the fruits of their labors. This fueled revolutionary sentiment amongst the Colonists. Many of these same individuals represented the original colonies in the Continental Congress where the seeds for the greatest nation on Earth were planted. These individuals embodied what a patriot is...
After months of disagreements, these treasonous representatives worked out a framework for self-governance and a declaration of self-rule separating us from the yoke of British tyranny. They knew that by signing the Declaration of Independence they were signing their own death warrants.
July 2nd, 1776, in Philadelphia, the Continental Congress approved the declaration and sent it to John Dunlap, the official congressional printer, who worked frantically to set the type and print 200 copies of the document to be distributed amongst the colonies. The first public reading of the Declaration of Independance occurred outside of Carpenter Hall in Philadelphia on July 4th, 1776. The resulting conflict initiated by these upstarts involves volumes of historical information.
The full history of Americas birth and fight for independence is a rich, complex tapestry of events that is, I fear, no longer being taught in public education without severe revisionist meddling. There is so much to be gleaned from a dive into the events culmination in the War for Independance.
I hope you have taken a moment of quiet reflection on what it means to be a citizen of the greatest country in the history of the world. If it might be your habit, join me in asking the Creator to bless our leaders. Instill in them the vision and fortitude to do what is right and necessary to preserve this great republic in the year leading up to the country's semiquincentenial celebration.
I wish you a safe and sober Independence Day...
