Happy 4th of July!   Well, there was no trip today except over to my mom's for grilling and fireworks...but I felt compelled to write tonight.  Independence Day is my favorite holiday! It always has been.  Partly because it's summer and I enjoy the outdoors and fireworks and a good barbeque.  But I think the main reason is for my love of history and US History in particular.

 It saddens me that so many people take this holiday for granted and I don't think many people realize the true importance of this day.   Most people do understand this day to be the Day the Declaration of Independence was signed and the 13 Colonies declared their independece from the opression of British Rule in 1776.

 But I don't think many people stop and really reflect on the importance of this day and this document.  During the hot weeks of June 1776 Thomas Jefferson and delegates met continuously to hammer out this document..arguing and bickering over numerous items to be included or excluded.  The youngest member 26 years old and the oldest Benjamin Franklin at 70!  These men used diplomacy, intellect, philosphy, and compromise to accomplish their task.  They were intelligent, articulate, and revolutionary in their actions.  It is sad we do not have such true statesmen/stateswomen such as them to represent us anymore.

What most people fail to recognize is that that on the fourth of July 1776, when these men signed this document, they committed a high crime of treason against the British Crown.  Had they been caught they would have been tried and jailed and possibly executed for this act.  I doubt there are any politicians left in Washington DC that would risk their life (or policical career) for the advancement of societal goods.  Lastly, while our rights are guaranteed by the Bill of Rights and The Constitution which came later, The Declaration of Independence was the corner stone and framework for the development of our country. It was the culmination of free thinkers and philosphers during the age of Enlightenment that came together with these men to create this document.  In an era of monarchies, religious rule, dictators and a system of serfdom and aristocracies it was truly revolutionary to proclaim not only independence but that  "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. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed."

 With my love of history and genealogy, I've spent years studying this period and the historical documents of that time.   I only wish that more people would actually sit down and read "The Declaration of Independence" and gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of it's revolutionary vision.  I only wish that we had such politicians again in our midst.