the 4th of july commemorates the 13 british colonies in what is now america uniting together and throwing off the shackles of british imperialism to become a free and independent nation (in words, it wouldn’t be for another 7 years that the united states of america would indeed be free. and this isn’t the day that the american revolution began, that was april 19, 1775 at the battle in lexington, mass). life, liberty & the pursuit of happiness. freedom from foreign oppression. the rights of the people, rights that are unalienable and that all men are entitled to by the laws of nature & of God. the declaration of independence is my personal favorite historical document, and i think that it is without a doubt the most important document in american history, and the basic framework for all those who would follow in its wake in throwing off monarchies and foreign rulers. of course, i could go on (and on and on!) about how we’ve ironically become exactly what the british were to us. but, that’s not what i want to do today. what i want is for everyone reading this to click on the link below and actually read the declaration of independence. to realize just how inspiring and amazing a work of revolutionary spirit it is. to understand that it is a manifesto that speaks to us in our time, and has as much relevance today as it did 232 years ago. and maybe from there you’ll come to some of your own realizations about how far we’ve fallen from what we were supposed to be, and how that we the people do actually have the power to change that…we just (en masse) don’t realize it…yet.

the want, wills, and hopes of the people

thomas jefferson could have never done another thing in his life, and in writing that would remain, in my opinion, the most important american whose ever lived. the founding fathers of this nation are such amazing and compelling characters in so many ways. we in our cynical mindset today tend to focus on their flaws - jefferson did indeed own slaves, washington was indeed virulenty racist, franklin was indeed a nymphomaniac. john adams was likely bi-polar. james madison & alexander hamilton were elitist jerks (well, they all pretty much were aristocratic like that!). and on and on. but, they were also absolute geniuses. and not just those metioned, but also men like the sons of liberty, patrick henry, john hancock, thomas paine, james monroe, paul revere, and most important of all (and not because of the beer), samuel adams, the true father of the american revolution.

these were men who carried with them the flaws of the times (i.e., owning slaves, having racist views, being aristocratic, etc.), but whose brilliance should nevertheless not only be recognized but embraced and celebrated. reading the words of jefferson, franklin, paine, sam adams, etc., i find myself completely in awe of their majestic minds…and amazed that they lived in the 18th century. their words have so much to say to us today.

so, today allow me to focus on all the great things about america (while not forgetting the atrocious). our founders, the ideals which this nation was founded upon - the first of its kind, the natural beauty that surrounds us throughout this land (so long as we fight to keep it that way), the freedoms that we do have - and they are many and they are wonderful, and all the good that the american people do for each other and for those abroad (as the linked post above says, we do rank 1st in giving to charity!). and the simple things. this is where rock & roll (and virtually every popular form of music, besides reggae, from gospel and the blues to folk and country to soul/r&b and funk to hip hop and punk and hardcore and indie, etc.) was born, and being a huge musicophile this is a big deal! and we have baseball, God bless it! that might seem silly to some, but i’m from new england and it’s a religion here :) and living abroad made me realize how much i missed american sports. this is a great country in many, many ways. oh, and we have hands down the best national anthem. for reals. but we need to acknowledge - and change - our flaws. and they are many and they are massive. it’s time to change the phrase from God bless america to america bless God.

amen.