Today is July 4th, an American holiday. It’s known as Independence Day. America celebrates July 4th as Independence Day because it was on July 4th, 1776, that members of the Second Continental Congress, meeting in Philadelphia, adopted the final draft of the Declaration of Independence. There’s a good article in the Journal-Advocate which gives additional details of the historical event and what it means. It took no small amount of courage to perform this act.
All 56 men who ultimately signed the Declaration of Independence showed great courage. Announcing independence from Great Britain was an act of treason, punishable by death. Thomas Jefferson was hunted by the British during most of the war, narrowly escaping capture on several occasions.
So today, even when it’s not so popular in the world to be an American, we should be proud. Celebrating July 4th doesn’t mean we agree with all the government policies or that American is without it’s problems, but we can celebrate freedom and honor those who gave so much to provide us this opportunity.
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