The Fourth of July is one of my (and America’s) favorite holidays. I love the parades and fireworks, the barbeques and gatherings. But it is not just the “events” that make this one of our favorites. I think it is more the enthusiasm and national pride that makes this holiday special.
This said, I want to make a few comments about what I have learned from the Fourth of July.
First, Freedom is not free. It has come to us at a price… it was bought (and it is maintained) with a major price. I grew up never knowing an uncle of mine (that my brother is named after.) He was a pilot in WW II and flew a Lockheed P-38 “Lightning” fighter plane. On one of his missions, his bomber squad was heading home from a mission over Germany when he was asked to return to cover other planes under attack by the Luftwaffe. He was short down and reported missing in action. Later a box came home with his remains (though we are not sure the remains are really his.) My uncle is but one of so many who paid the ultimate price for our freedoms.
Second, Apathy or Complacency is Rampant in our present society. It puzzles me how so much enthusiasm about “celebrating” the Fourth is not translated into meaningful action to protect our liberties.
How well do we cherish our freedoms? I am saddened by so many citizens of this country who will put down our country, trample our flag, so-to-speak. Fortunately these numbers are relatively small. But what about the huge numbers that seem apathetic? Sadly it is a minority of numbers that actually go to caucuses and get out to primaries and vote. Most of us love our liberty but do little to protect and promote it. It is easy to complain about this country “going to pot”; something else to do something about it.
Edmund Burke said: ‘The only thing necessary for the triumph [of evil] is for good men to do nothing.’ And complaining is doing worse than nothing, I might add.
I wish somehow the enthusiasm people show at Independence Day for the concerts could be translated into true patriotism. We need to stand up and take action… not just give lip service.
Third, there is a growing “ignorance” on the party of our country to really know and understand our own history… and the “real” history… not what we sometimes contrived in text books these days with political agendas. A recent poll shows that a full 20% of Americans do not know from which country United States declared it’s Independence from. (And 6% more were unsure. Among the answers to this question were France, China, Japan, Mexico, and Spain.) [source: http://maristpoll.marist.edu/wp-content/misc/usapolls/US100617/July%204th_summer%20vacation/Country_From_Which_US_Declared_Independence.htm ]
How many times have you watched Jay Leno ask questions to “average” Americans on the street about history (or Frank Nicotero of Street Smarts). The results are always amusing. But it is a sad commentary on our society to fail to really educate our people about history. And it is said that “those who do not study history are doomed to repeat it.” Are we not heading down the road to failed policies of the past… even today as our society complacently accepts the leadership of a few bent on socialism. Russia mocks us for the direction we are heading. They have been there and “seen the light”. Others scorn us. But we seem to be willing to be lead like a pig to the slaughter as we increasingly rely on government to provide and take care of us.
We need to study our history and the documents that made us free and preserve our rights.
As a side note, it seems that there is a correlation between those who know and study our history and those who are successful economically speaking. Aren’t the active participants in our society the most successful?
Well, I will get down from the soap box. The Fourth of July is over… for another 365 days at least. But let’s keep the light of freedom shining in our hearts and minds and let it show in our dedication to actively fight for our freedoms. For Freedom is not secured nor maintained without a price. Will you join me in speaking out, in participating?
I am your fellow countryman, Oliver Kingsbury. God bless you and God bless America!
Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of… Property?
OK, we just celebrated another Fourth of July this weekend (3rd through 5th). So how well do you know the history of our most important document that protects and preserves our Freedoms? Here is something you may have missed….
Did you know that the original draft of the U.S. Constitution basically said that all men have certain unalienable (natural and legal) rights and that among these are Life, Liberty… and YES… Property!
No kidding. The founders felt that the right to obtain the means to acquire and possess property were so important they were akin to our rights of Life and Liberty itself!
Here is the wording in that original draft. It is found in the first and second article of the Virginia Declaration of Rights adopted unanimously by the Virginia Convention of Delegates on June 12, 1776 as written by George Mason.
That all men are by nature equally free and independent, and have certain inherent rights, of which, when they enter into a state of society, they cannot, by any compact, deprive or divest their posterity; namely, the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of acquiring and possessing property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety.
Interesting, huh? Our founding fathers were so bent on protecting our rights to property that it found itself into at least one aspect of the “pursuit of happiness.” (And Is this not an essential part of the American Dream?) Indeed John Locke, among others, upon whom the concept of happiness was based in our Constitution, believed strongly that one aspect of happiness IS the right to pursue the acquiring of property and the free use of it.
Well, here is “the rest of the story” in a nutshell…
Happiness is a huge issue. And both Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson (who drafted the Constitution) felt that, while property was an important aspect of our enjoyments, there are numerous components that secure and promote our happiness. So Jefferson down played the property rights and instead broadened the language to include more than that. In fact, Jefferson believed that happiness is not so much what we have or get but our conscience and awareness of others… what we give, not get. [see Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life,_liberty_and_the_pursuit_of_happiness]
The United States Declaration of Independence, which was primarily drafted by Jefferson, was adopted by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776. The text of the second section of the Declaration of Independence reads:
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.
From now on when you hear the phrase “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”, you will better understand how huge the concept of “pursuit of Happiness” is… how property is part of it… but so is our general civility and love for each other and the “right” to pursue our dreams, our happiness by a government that not only does not interfere with these rights but helps to protect and preserve them.
PS – I encourage you to read up more on this topic in Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life,_liberty_and_the_pursuit_of_happiness
