Happy Fourth of July!
Jul. 4th, 2004 10:46 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
filkertomToday is the 228th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. In this turbulent world, we should all take a moment to reflect on what our most important documents meant, and still mean.
Fifty-six men risked their lives by signing that paper, declaring themselves Traitors to the Realm. But freedom was more important to them than safety. Freedom was more important to them than life. They understood sacrifice; Benjamin Franlin's famous quote about having to hang together, or else they'd all hang separately, was not a bon mot, but a reminder of the very real executions waiting for them if they failed. Patrick Henry's "Give me liberty or give me death!" was not hyperbole -- it was the only choice they had.
In the interest of reminding our fellow Americans what this year's election, what America, is really all about, let's go right to the source: the Declaration itself, at the National Archives. There's a great deal of living history on this excellent site; take the time to rediscover America. I think you'll have an excellent time.
And then, fire up the grill.
Update: two little goodies to make the 4th more... fourthy.
First, a fantastic essay from the L.A. Weekly, "Give Us Back Our Damn Flag".
Second, I (and Leslie and Mark Bernstein and Sharon) just got back from seeing Fahrenheit 9/11. Wow. Just... wow. I actually knew a great deal of the factual information presented in the film, but the way it's presented here is just stunning. Anybody else seen it yet?
Fifty-six men risked their lives by signing that paper, declaring themselves Traitors to the Realm. But freedom was more important to them than safety. Freedom was more important to them than life. They understood sacrifice; Benjamin Franlin's famous quote about having to hang together, or else they'd all hang separately, was not a bon mot, but a reminder of the very real executions waiting for them if they failed. Patrick Henry's "Give me liberty or give me death!" was not hyperbole -- it was the only choice they had.
In the interest of reminding our fellow Americans what this year's election, what America, is really all about, let's go right to the source: the Declaration itself, at the National Archives. There's a great deal of living history on this excellent site; take the time to rediscover America. I think you'll have an excellent time.
And then, fire up the grill.
Update: two little goodies to make the 4th more... fourthy.
First, a fantastic essay from the L.A. Weekly, "Give Us Back Our Damn Flag".
Second, I (and Leslie and Mark Bernstein and Sharon) just got back from seeing Fahrenheit 9/11. Wow. Just... wow. I actually knew a great deal of the factual information presented in the film, but the way it's presented here is just stunning. Anybody else seen it yet?
