The 4th of July. Independence Day! Long live the fighters!

Here in the United States of America we celebrate another Independence Day this July 4th--our 238th such celebration. Why does it matter to remember? What lessons can we learn from our past? How important is it that we never forget? More importantly, should we teach the next generation about it?

Basic freedoms were the breaking point of the American colonies. The first Continental Congress had attempted diplomatic talks with King George, asking for a redress of grievances (put another way: they wanted to file a protest, and ask for new understanding). That attempt failed, or was ignored. Anyway, a second Continental Congress was appointed and they passed the Declaration of Independence on July 4th, 1776. It lists very specific points, which the Congress felt were too important to ignore. The document was created to announce to the entire world the issues at hand, to lay bare the grievances and allow the world to judge the rightness of the Declaration. I can barely imagine how upset King George was (though the fact it started a war is pretty telling). And, thus, was a new sovereign nation brought into being.

Naturally, I've simplified quite a lot there. But, I believe it's incredibly important to understand why this was done. Most only know of the "No taxation without representation" issue, but that wasn't even in the top 10. Point number 1 ... the King refused to acknowledge our laws. Pretty important thing there. How about number 2? Governors couldn't enforce laws until the King approved them. Number 3? The King wouldn't allow large districts, unless they gave up making their own laws. Wow, the top three are all about the colonies being allowed to govern themselves. How many Americans know this? They need to learn. This was all about freedom! Not simply taxes. The colonies longed to govern themselves, and were even willing to do so under a King, but would not bear being oppressed.

Today, we celebrate the courage of 56 men who put their names on a document which they knew almost certainly marked them for death. Yet, the men did it anyway. I enjoy the story of the famous "John Hancock" signature being so large because Hancock knew King George's eyes were poor and so he signed it so large even the King could read it himself!

Yes, me must teach the next generation. Get a copy of the Declaration of Independence. Read it. Read it to your kids. Read it to each other. The words are eloquent, powerful, and resonate to this day. It still matters. It'll always matter.

Happy Independence Day!

- M