Declaring Independence

The Fourth of July is the most uniquely American holiday on the calendar. If you don’t like “the Fourth”, then I’m not sure we can be friends. It’s a day of celebration – flag-waiving parades, community festivals, family picnics, backyard barbeques, camping trips, swimming parties and, of course, fireworks. It’s a day to eat fried chicken or chicken-fried steak with mashed potatoes and country gravy, or hamburgers or hot dogs with the works! Buttermilk biscuits and corn-on-the-cob are almost required today. Then it’s apple pie time, baby, with a slab of vanilla ice cream alongside, if you please! And, if there’s no watermelon on the table, then you can only conclude that it’s either July 3rd or July 5th; it’s not the Fourth.

This is the one day of the year when you can listen to John Phillip Souza marches and no one will think it’s a quirky taste. Red, white and blue are on display everywhere and they never look better together. If there’s ever a day to park the Toyota and fire up the old Chevy, this is it. Today, the dogs should be let off the leash and allowed to run free in city parks.

The Fourth is a celebration of independence. As everyone knows, it marks the ratification of the Declaration of Independence and there is great significance in that. The event being celebrated was only a declaration – those who declared themselves independent of the British crown hadn’t won anything, yet, except self-respect. The lion’s share of the fight lay ahead of them. Actual independence still had to be secured through great sacrifice.

One could argue that we should celebrate on September 3rd, the day the Treaty of Paris was signed in 1783, or January 14th, the day that treaty was ratified in 1784 by the new U.S. Congress, thereby ending the American Revolution. Or, we could celebrate June 21st, the day in 1788 when the United States Constitution was ratified, or March 4th, the day in 1798 when the government began to operate under its new Constitution. It was on these days that the final stamp was placed on a uniquely American form of government that would stand the test of time and serve as the basis for the United States to become the recognized leader of the free world.

But, instead, we choose to celebrate the act of declaring ourselves free. Perhaps that’s because without that first step nothing would happen thereafter. Perhaps that’s because it’s the declaration that really makes us free, even if there’s a fight to follow. Perhaps that’s because even if the fight is unsuccessful it’s the effort that ennobles us and makes us free in spirit if not in deed.

In that spirit, each of us should look for those things in our life that bind us; that keep us in unnatural captivity of some kind; that inhibit our freedom in unacceptable ways – things that rob us of independence or the opportunity for healthy interdependence. Then each of us should author our own Declaration of Independence and engage in the struggle to make it real to whatever extent is necessary. The end result is worth the sacrifice. I’ve made a couple such declarations in my life and then engaged in the battle that ensued. In each instance my life took a leap forward in quality – significantly greater peace and happiness was the reward.

Interestingly, many of the cords us that bind us will fall away in the face of nothing other than the declaration. That’s because many of them hold us down without us even being aware that they’re there. Once we become aware of them and boldly declare ourselves free and independent of them, these cords simply fall limp and loose at our sides. We are far more free and independent at any given time than we realize.

May my family and friends and anyone else who happens to read this find the voice necessary to declare their independence from whatever may be holding them back from the peace and happiness that awaits them.

Time to go – John Phillip Souza and the watermelon are calling me!