Reflections on the 4th

Celebrating Independence Day for what it is. It's about the 4th of July, 1776 yet well meaning people seem confused as they send out wonderful FB sentiments appropriate for Veterans Day and Memorial Day.


The 4th of July, 1776 resounds as that very special date that a group of American statesmen in Philadelphia affixed on parchment as the day they stood together and in defiance to the world superpower at the time: Britain. Those brave men knew they were making themselves criminals in the eyes of the mighty Empire and would forfeit their comforts in life, if not their own lives. There was no professional American Army, Air Force, or fleet of drones; no vast American military complex. There was no United States, just 13 colonies that weren't getting along very well with George III. The American revolution was funded, fought and won by everyday people from all walks of life who joined together and sacrificed beyond what can hardly be comprehended in this world of modern amenities, convenience and wealth. The 4th of July set the colonists on a one way path to revolution and started what we now know as the USA. Remember the 4th for what it was: a daring and radical proclamation of independence. The 4th is about the brilliance of people over 200 years ago who wanted "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness".

I often belittle NY for its high taxes, congestion, urban decay, etc. But there is a cool aspect about where I live. The village of Suffern (named for late 18th century landowner John Suffern) was a crossroads of the American revolution with names like Washington and Rochambeau among the village's key visitors on the road to eventual victory at Yorktown, VA.

Let the worlds of “When in the course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation....” ring out forever!