Patriotic Reflections
WHAT JULY 4TH MEANS TO YOU
Pride in America's Founding Ideals
Many of you wrote about your pride in the tenets on which America was founded. Thank you for allowing us to share some of your responses here.
From: Ms. J. Isherwood's ELD Students
The Fourth of July signifies our freedom from the King of England. It is when the Decleration of Independence was signed. Our Country was born and free! Today we have the right to be involved in voting for laws and government officials. We have feedom of religion. We celebrate the Fourth of July by having fireworks, picinics, and parades!
From: Mary Green, Virginia
July 4th means living in a country that was founded by fore fathers who fought and died so that I may have spirited political debates without the fear of reprisal. It means the freedom to speak openly, and worship without fear. It means knowing that my child can grow up to become anything he wishes to be. After living in several other countries I know in my heart this is the best country in the world and I could not be prouder of it or the people that make it up.
From: Tim Lipka, North Carolina
The Fourth to me means a celebration of the grand experiment of our government. The Fourth is also a time when everyone in the United States is an American and we all share a common ideal: that we are endowed with certain rights, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
From: Joey Miller, Minnesota
July 4th is one of my most important days in the year. You think that you don't get gifts but that is not true on the 4th. We as Americans do get gifts and that is the gift of our fathers and their fathers fighting for our freedoms. It is a time when the nation realizes that we are all the same. The fourth is meant to get together and celebrate the birth of this country and its constitution. Lastly, this holiday is about our soldiers over seas and the veterans who have served this great country.
From: David Frum, Kentucky
The Fourth should spark something much deeper than a day off or celebrations with family. It should kindle a flame of desire to embrace our history (good and bad); motivate involvement to ensure a continuation of the principles that kay the foundation of this country; and it should compel us to reflect...to reflect on what it truly means to be free. Not the superficial freedoms we take for granted every day, but the freedoms granted to us by those who have fought for and died to protect the independence of this great nation.
From:Robert Maison, New Jersey
The 4th of July means celebrating Freedom for me. Acknowledging and expressing my appreciation of being born and living in this country. Thinking about all the freedom we have that we take for granted everyday. The freedom of doing what I want when I want and with whom I want. The ability to go anywhere anytime. The freedom to worship or not worship whatever I choose without fear of government or individual interference. The freedom to come and go as I wish without fear of someone blowing me up because they don’t agree with what I do or do not believe in. We usually have a family picnic and watch the local fireworks. I fly the Flag and honor it for what it stands for: One nation, with Liberty and Justice for all.
From: David Tefft, Indiana
As a military retiree, my thoughts may be somewhat different than others. Yes, I take pride in the fact that I am an American and also was allowed to serve her directly for 20 years. Spending July 4th overseas will give you a different perspective on what it means to be patriotic. The resident American community in whatever country you are in seems to pull closer together and solidify around the fact we are uniquely American. On a different note, I remember the fact that for years the family would gather at some relative’s house to cook out and enjoy the company of those we didn’t get to see often enough and then go en masse to whichever local fireworks display was available. Finally, and most personally, it means the feeling I get in my throat and heart whenever I see the flag and know it represents the sacrifice of so many patriots so that we all have the right to live as we do.
From: Hal Hadley, Tennessee
Our Bluff City Canoe Club usually meets at the library. Today was special. We had a picnic at Meeman-Shelby Forest State Park in Pavilion #5. The TV show was super terrific. I sure missed by not being there. Glad it was safe. As far as history goes, I am discovering more history that brings the true spirit of the founding of our nation. It will be exciting in the future to see the researchers rediscover some of the early events from the 1750s and 1760s that led up to the first skirmish in North Carolina that inspired the northeast to realize we could fight the British.
From: Karl M. Wagner, Pennsylvania
I would agree with all of those themes posted by fellow citizens. I am proud of our nation, thought troubled on the current path it is headed. We must not just talk about how our forefathers started this nation, but take the time to read and understand what their goals were. We must rekindle the flame of enlightened thinking they started. We must also look at how we as American’s think differently than European counterparts. We as a people are a community of individuals and that is what makes us great. We balance, so delicately, our self-interests and the obligation of allowing the future generations to succeed. I pray in God’s name that we will continue for thousands of years to come.
From: Ina S. Land, Maryland
“It was never ‘cool’ to be patriotic, and others laughed when my mother stood wherever she was when the Star Spangled Banner was played, i.e., the movies, during a parade when the flag passed, at a ball game. I grew up learning not to laugh at my mother but to understand what she was trying to teach me, her only daughter, about the great gift and responsibility that came with being an American. I tried to impart this to my children, and now to my grandchildren, but I fear that I am the only one who feels goose bumps when I hear the song ‘America.’ My husband is patriotic and feels as I do, but I want our progeny to hold on to this country and to love it as I do. We may not agree with all that has taken place, but if asked, I would not want to live anywhere else in this world.”
From: Abby C., Tennessee
“Every year on the 4th of July...I am reminded of the insurmountable odds the founding fathers of this nation faced. They were looking into the eyes of the most powerful empire on the planet, and they still stood strong. The ‘rebels’ were never supposed to last past December of 1776, but even then the American spirit shown through and carried us to victory in 1783. The founders then came together, and although the disagreements were many, they managed to create what has become the longest surviving democratic government in history. I think so many Americans have forgotten the true bravery that everyone involved in the revolution showed daily. From Washington and Jefferson down the individual militia members; they are why we are still a nation today.”
From: John R Haelig, Sr., New Jersey
“July 4th is a time for celebration of the founding of our nation. Our community celebrates it by gathering at the site where George Washington first flew the flag of our country on June 14th 1777. The site was preserved by a non-profit corporation, with a deeded provision that the Declaration of Independence be read each year to a public gathering on July 4th. We will do so.”
From: Shawn Katzen, Connecticut
"The Fourth of July is the symbol of our Nation's freedom from oppression beginning when our forefathers arrived hundreds of years ago. Under tyranny of Britain, the colonies fought for their own freedom to make their own independent nation. They succeeded with the writing of the Declaration of Independence, and the U.S. Constitution. With these two documents, that set the tone for this country to be a great nation. Many have fought and died for this great country and I am proud to have the distinct honor to call myself American."
From: Wayne Johnson, North Carolina
“This year I will celebrate Independence Day with my own family, my wife and three girls and our extended family as we return to celebrate with our Nation at our Capitol. I can only hope that they too will have the opportunity to celebrate this most important day for our Nation in a way that will mark their lives and spark their patriotism.”
This year I will celebrate Independence Day with my own family, my wife and three girls and our extended family as we return to celebrate with our Nation at our Capitol. I can only hope that they too will have the opportunity to celebrate this most important day for our Nation in a way that will mark their lives and spark their patriotism."
From: Jim Sickora, Ohio
"I like to celebrate the Fourth by reflecting on how close we have come as a society towards our ideals. We have, indeed, come quite a ways since the days of our Founding Fathers, and we should be proud of that. Yet, we still have a distance to go. As a human institution, the United States has made, and is going to make, errors and mistakes along the way. But, if we take the time to learn from the lessons these problems teach and have the courage to correct them, we will have truly earned the right to be known as a 'superpower nation." That is the main reason our Constitution was made amendable, because of our human frailties and the determination to overcome them."
From: Jeromy Rose, Ohio
"To me, the Fourth of July represents a chance for all Americans to reflect on the greatness of our country and the rich historical past we have. We can celebrate the freedoms we enjoy and it also gives us a day to remember our great forefathers who risked everything to create our great country."
