Independence Day - 4th of July
by Bree
(This is copyrighted material; you must obtain written permission for reprint. Cra_Z_D8s@yahoo.com )
Independence Day, 4th of July, marks the birth date of the United States of America. On this day, our forefathers gained independence from the rule of England. In memory of our independence, people in large cities and small towns gather at their local 4th of July firework displays. Droves of people carry lawn chairs, blankets, and picnic baskets to the waterfronts. Chins protrude with pride, right hands cover hearts, tears stream down cheeks as mass gatherings across our great nation sing our National Anthem. Heads turn skyward as firework displays mirror themselves in glittering eyes.
Independence Day, with all its celebration, is a day that reminds us what America was intended to be. Great historical minds were examined by our forefathers as they created our Constitution. Throughout our history people have worked to preserve the reasoning behind our Constitution.
Independence Day is a time to educate our children as to what their duties will be in protecting the rights granted to "we the people" of this United States of America. Franklin D. Roosevelt said, "Those who have long enjoyed such privileges as we enjoy forget in time that men have died to win them." Adlai E. Stevenson, in the Saturday Review of 1959, used the words of Goethe, the German poet, to remind the citizens of the United States that "we inherited freedom. We seem unaware that freedom has to be remade and re-earned in each generation of man." Our 28th President, Woodrow Wilson, stated, "The American Revolution was a beginning, not a consummation."
Our great American Revolutionists did not wish to fight for their independence from England, but were forced to take that venue due to England’s failure to hear the voices of the American colonists. Failure of the government of England to give fair and equitable representation to the American colonists left our forefathers all too aware of the dangers inherent in any government rule, just as they were aware of the need for government. In the words of George Washington: "Government is not reason. It is not eloquence. It is a force; like fire, a dangerous servant and a terrible master." Like fire, our government can serve us well, as long as we do not allow it to get out of control. Like fire, our government can destroy us if it does get out of our control and become our master.
Washington knew that he was part in the creation of something that must be fought with "whip and chair" to keep under control. Wilson knew that the battle had been and would forever be continuous. As humans continue from one generation to the next to grow more in intelligence and more in understanding of their environment, changes are made to the original Constitution. Proof of this growth can be seen in our Amendments to our Constitution. Our forefathers knew that they were not omniscient; therefore, in their wisdom, they built into the Constitution the process of Amendment. As wise as our forefathers may have been, their descendants recognized some flaws in their thinking and rectified those mistakes through the Amendment process, for example, the 14th and 19th Amendments - rights of women and blacks to vote.
Not only did men die in the American Revolution to give us independence, but people have continued to fight and die to win, extend, enforce, and keep that independence. John Stuart Mill published in Fraser’s Magazine in February of 1862: "A man who has nothing which he is willing to fight for, nothing which he cares more about than he does his personal safety, is a miserable creature who has no chance of being free, unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself. As long as justice and injustice have not terminated their ever-renewing fight for ascendancy in the affairs of mankind, human beings must be willing, when needed, to do battle for the one against the other."
"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it." These words of Thomas Paine should be gripped tightly in the fist of the determined Americans who wish to maintain the freedom and liberty won by our forefathers. We must be vigilant in maintaining and enforcing the rights given to us by our Constitution for the purpose of protecting the rights and freedoms of each and every citizen. In the words of Akamai Kane: "When you have no rights, all that is left is wrongs."
Let us teach our children and remind ourselves, during this celebration of Independence Day, what America is about. In the words of Justice Robert H. Jackson: "It is not the function of our government to keep the citizen from falling into error, it is the function of the citizen to keep the government from falling into error." Our government is run by a few people "we the people" vote into office and by people those elected officials appoint. When these officials, elected or appointed, defy the welfare of the United States citizenry for their own selfish gain or because of their own prejudices, they violate their oaths of offices.
Marcus Tullius Cicciro’s words can be found on the City Hall of Los Angeles: "He that violates his oath profanes the Divinity of faith itself." The words of Abraham Lincoln remind us not to throw the baby out with the bath water. "We, the People are the rightful masters of both congress and the courts - to not overthrow the Constitution, but to overthrow men who pervert the Constitution."
The First Amendment begins: "Congress shall make no law..." This is just an example that limits the power of the government, not the power of "we the people". Take into account the words of Edmond Burke: "All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing." We can today begin to give our sovereignty as a nation back to its rightful owners, "we the people", by following the advice of Thomas Jefferson: "Enlighten the people generally, and tyranny and oppressions of body and mind will vanish like evil spirits at the break of day."
As we sing our National Anthem, let us give thought to the people across the nation who are fighting today to enforce the freedoms already granted by our Constitution and Amendments. Be aware that their fights may be wholly suppressed and kept secret from the public or perverted in the details to the public by officials who are violating their oaths of office, refusing to enforce the rights established in our Constitution. Be aware of what Judge Earl Johnson, Jr. said while you think about those people who are trying to enforce their God-given and Constitutional rights: "Poor people have access to the courts in the same sense that Christians had access to the lions..."
Let everyone ask: "What can I do to ensure that my Constitution is enforced by the officials in my government?" BE INFORMED! That is our duty as citizens. General Douglas MacArthur said to the Japanese "No man is entitled to the blessings of freedom unless he be vigilant in its preservation." STAND UP AND BE HEARD! Albert Einstein declared: "The strength of the Constitution lies entirely in the determination of each citizen to defend it. Only if every single citizen feels duty bound to do his share in this defense are the constitutional rights secure." BE COURAGEOUS! As Mark Twain defined, "Courage is resistance of fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear."
Do not follow the path of least resistance just to flow with the perceived power if in so doing you forfeit your rights. It is frightening to face the powerful government. But if you remind yourself that it is not our government that is violating rights (because our Constitution forbids it), you will realize that it is the people elected and the people those elected officials appointed who are violating their oaths of office and perverting our Constitution. "We the people" are the power behind our Constitution, let us be powerful.
"We hold these truths to be self-evident. That all men are created equal and endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights." - Declaration of Independence.
Recommended reading material for every citizen in a democracy: "1984" by George Orwell. It is about a government that got too powerful. Orwell's "Nineteen-Eighty-Four" makes Stephen King's works look like nursery rhymes.Click On One Of The Links Below For More Fun Reads
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Independence Day - 4th of July
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