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The Fourth of July—America's Independence Day. This is a holiday that many Americans embrace with joyful ferocity. Emergency rooms everywhere are inundated with the results of choices empowered by poor judgment and beer, proving that the spirit of “'Murica” is alive and well in our mighty country. A recent article by WalletHub states that Americans spent an estimated $2.7 billion dollars on fireworks in 2023. That's right. This does not even include commercial fireworks displays, this is just backyard shows where your Uncle Bob is lighting the fuse and running for cover. If we are rounding to the nearest ten value, we can say that Americans spent nearly $3 billion dollars last year on explosives to celebrate their freedom. Interesting how we celebrate our independence with “rockets' red glare” and “bombs bursting in air”, isn't it? Leave it to us Americans to turn something horrific into something beautiful. Not everyone will see it that way, but I think that we are a unique group of people who can see the value in changing our perspective.
After the end of the Revolutionary War, our nation was both new and crumbling. During the years surrounding this fight for our fledgling nation to be released to govern itself, an estimated 2.5 million people lived in the thirteen colonies. (I won't be delving into the numbers of Native Americans in this article, as that is a history lesson all on its own.) Of those 2.5 million people, it is estimated that somewhere between 25,000 and 70,000 active military members died in service. Those are broad numbers, I know. But record keeping wasn't nearly as efficient in the 1770s as it is today, and those are estimates from a wide range of historians. That means that anywhere between 1% and 2.8% of the American population died in military service during the Revolutionary War. If we adjusted those numbers to meet today's population, that would be the deaths of anywhere between 3.3 million and 9.4 million Americans. Those are horrible, sobering numbers, aren't they? Every single person living in the colonies would have lost someone that they loved, and many would have lost large portions of their families and social groups. So why on earth do we celebrate such devastating losses with a display of joy?
Americans began celebrating our Independence Day on July 4, 1777, just one year after the signing of the Declaration of Independence; a brave and gutsy act considering that the Treaty of Paris would not officially end the war for another five years on September 3, 1783. In a defiant act of freedom, the colonists celebrated one year of declaring ourselves an independent nation much in the same way that we continue to celebrate today. They held picnics, parades, and fireworks displays. Men fired muskets and cannons, children ran around the grounds in glee as adults played lively music to dance to. Does this sound familiar? In all the years that have gone by our celebration of freedom hasn't really changed! Whether you get your neighbors together for a potluck and pray that Uncle Bob doesn't lose another finger this year, or you take a picnic lunch to the lawn of our nation's capitol to watch the display, or you spend your holiday on a boat in the sunshine, we all end up sitting beneath the same vivid ethereal glow. The same “rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air.” It is a beautiful realization that one of our first traditions has remained much the same, a direct reflection of the way the citizens of our brand-new country celebrated with their eyes set on the future.
After the smoke had cleared and the dead had been buried, America was established as its own governing country. Those who remained began to rebuild their lives and aimed to make this new country one to be proud of. Many mistakes would be made along the way, and our history doesn't hide those. But who are we if we cannot learn from our mistakes? In this rebuilding, the citizens of this newly-established government had a choice to make: would they wallow in the sorrow of their losses, or would they honor those lost by looking to the hard-won future with gratefulness? With each battle and war won, our nation's sense of patriotism grew, and that sense of unity grew with it, even though there were still things that threatened to divide us. We continued to celebrate our freedom to be both united and divided in our differences, and that is a beautiful expression of what freedom is all about. With each passing year, Americans find that the pain of our wars lessens, while our love for our country remains. We can learn a lot from our country's forefathers and their determination to find joy in the face of trials.
This year we can find a million things to divide us. Once again, presidential elections are looming, and Americans on both sides of the spectrum are angry, nervous, and concerned. Instead of focusing on the things that divide us, for one day we will focus on the freedom that unites us. The gratefulness that we feel to those who fought for that freedom. The joy that can be found because so many chose to give their lives, both living and dying to ensure that the future would be a bright one. As we Americans look up to the sky in wonder, I pray that our hearts are filled with thankfulness and joy! Celebrating our nation's birthday is a gift, and our country does that in a style all our own! So, America, fire up your grills and smokers! Devil those eggs, cheese up that macaroni, and bake those apple pies! Wear your red, white, and blue, and light your sparklers. Celebrate the holiday with unbridled glee, and don't let anyone tell you to do otherwise! We are the land of the free and the home of the brave, so go be both of those things. Fly your flags proudly, and teach your children our most patriotic of songs. Hug your loved ones tightly, thanking God for the freedom that so many gave their lives for. Feel your heart swell with patriotism as you see the colorful glow of the "rockets' red glare", and hear the boom of "bombs bursting in air." Look around at all the other Americans watching the fireworks with you. They feel that same pride, and owe the same debt of freedom. And that unites us despite all our differences. That is what America is all about.
Happy Independence Day, fellow Americans. I hope that this year brings you joy! Also, be safe. If good old Uncle Bob goes running...you probably should too.
For an added dose of unbridled patriotism, I highly recommend listening to Voices of Liberty sing the song "Golden Dream" at Disney's Epcot. This is my favorite patriotic song of all time and a lovely rendition can be found on Kungaloosh Radio.
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