Fourth of July

Arlington – Lexington – Concord.  Birthplaces of our country.  Hallowed ground.

The monuments and markers along the battle route of 1775 enshrine the events of a time in history when people shook off the yoke of tyranny.  A time in which the declared independence of our country a year later changed the face of human history.  

It brought about a nation, a society, founded on the equal rights of all – regardless of race, creed, or sex.  A country in which freedom of religion and religious tolerance, for example, could take place.  A country in which Protestant, Catholic, Jew, Muslim, and every other religious denomination could live in harmony with each other.

These are deeply-rooted spiritual principles – principles that I feel are innate to our very beings.

Have we always lived up to those principles – those freedoms?  No.  We often lost our way heading down the destructive paths that our history has sadly been littered with.

But the potential for living those noble and right freedoms – for respecting each other regardless of the color of our skin, our political views, our religious or non-religious leanings, our sex, our ethnicity, our diversity – is there.

Indeed, there is nothing constraining us from doing so but our own fears, ignorance, and prejudice.

Isn't it time in our history to once again commit ourselves to seeing that those freedoms be fully expressed in our lives – freedoms that so many have paid the ultimate sacrifice to insure for us and our progeny?

Our nation is counting on us.  The world is counting us.

So while we’re all celebrating the 4^th with families and friends, alone or with our fellow citizens, wouldn’t it be good to remember why this day exists?  

That’s my plan.  What about you?