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Sunday, July 4. 2010

Happy Independence Day!

”When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

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.”

And so begins the Declaration of Independence, ratified on this date, July 4th, 1776 — 234 years ago. Since then we’ve had a confederation of states, that soon fell way to our current constitution that has now produced 44 presidents — from George Washington, a slave owner, to Barack Obama, the son of an African immigrant.
 It should be noted that Washington came to believe slavery was wrong, but chose not to pursue the abolition of slavery lest it tear apart the new nation, which eventually occurred, about 62 years after he died. But Washington had his slaves freed after his wife, Martha, passed away and set in his will provisions to care for the elderly slaves and educate those who were not of age.

We’ve seen more wars than I care to count, including a great Civil War that claimed the lives of over 600,000 Americans on the field of battle alone.

We’ve had great social and industrial transformations. The Industrial Age may have started in Great Britain, but the United States became the biggest, most industrious and creative force in that period.

We’ve had the Jet Age, the Space Age, the Computer Age, not to mention, the Age of Aquarius!
 When the moon is in the 7th House, and Jupitor aligns with Mars, then peace will guide the planets and love will rule the stars!
 This is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius!

In the 1960’s women and minorities changed the societal conceptions on equality as African-Americans pushed their way to the table of American Democracy. The Women’s Movement soon followed, although today both still have hurdles to overcome for truly equal justice and treatment under the law.

And today we have a Black President; never thought I’d see that in my lifetime. It wouldn’t be a surprise then if we were to have a woman president before I leave This Mortal Coil. We might even have a third party win the presidency, although it won’t be the Tea Party.

So, we’ll have our barbeques, go to the beach, eat ice cream and watch the parades and fire works. But let’s not lose sight of why we celebrate this day. Millions have fought to preserve our independence and millions of those gave their Last Full Measure of Devotion.

The signers of the Declaration of Independence:
 New Hampshire: Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Matthew Thornton
 Massachusetts: John Hancock, Samual Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry
 Rhode Island: Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery
 Connecticut: Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott
 New York: William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris

 New Jersey: Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark
 Pennsylvania: Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross
 Delaware: Caesar Rodney, George Read, Thomas McKean
 Maryland: Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll of Carrollton
 Virginia: George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton
 North Carolina: William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn
 South Carolina: Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton
 Georgia: Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton

The 13 original colonies that eventually became the 13 original states. These, my friends, are the Founding Fathers, 56 in all. We hear that term bandied about a lot. Well these are the men we are talking about. It is their collective and individual memories we invoke when we use the term, “Founding Fathers.” Use it wisely.

Stay safe and enjoy this 4th of July!

Posted by Tim Forkes in HOLIDAYS at 06:01 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)

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