Today is July 4th, what we Americans call our Independence Day.  That is true, despite the fact that the actual Declaration was issued a few days earlier than this some 246 years ago.  And, as was true for Israel when it declared its independence in 1948,   America’s neighbors weren’t so sure we were independent.  OK. For America, it wasn’t  the “neighbors” per se- it was Britain, which also controlled our neighbor to the North- Canada.  But, even when Britain conceded it lost the States, it wasn’t until the completion of the War of 1812 that our battle(s) with Britain truly achieved our independence.

Back in the 1960s, many of our politicians were enamored with declaring it was “their way or the highway”.  The actual vernacular  they used was “Love it or leave it”.   Those cries attenuated for a while, but have been coming back into vogue again, despite the fact that most of the adherents of that belief seem to only have a cartoon idea of what it is that America originated and for what it stands.

Especially as our government routinely violates our Constitution and its first 10 Amendments (which we term our “Bill of Rights”), in the name of protecting us.  Moreover, our government policies still cower and demean our citizens of color, which is why we’ve been seeing almost daily protests across this great land.  Not to mention how the Supreme Court has just set back the separation of church and state by decades- or a century.

And, for the past five years or so, we have one party that feels it can incite riots in the US Capitol, overturn legal elections, and outlaw the legal votes of minorities and the poor.  So much for the Bill of Rights and Democracy.

It is time for us to truly celebrate the idea of America.  By making sure we make that the reality of America.

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.

Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.

Heavy words, great import- but only if they actually are true.  It’s time they stop ringing hollow for too many of our citizens.

Oh, and happy birthday to my son, Daniel, who graced this world 31 years ago on the 4th of July!  We managed to celebrate his birthday early by watching the Phillies beat the Cardinals- and with fireworks at the stadium after the  game ended.

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