O! Say Can You See ...

Today we celebrate the 233^rd birthday of our nation. I know you remember that July 4, 1776 was the date of the formal adoption of the Declaration of Independence by the Continental Congress. In fact, most of us had to memorize or at least read it in our American History classes in school. Does this sound familiar?

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.

These days we take those unalienable Rights for granted, don’t we? But our forefathers fought hard to secure those rights for us. There were many battles fought, property destroyed and lives lost before those men finally saw the independence they sought as their God-given right. But they were willing to sacrifice that because they’d made a covenant with the people they represented when they signed that document.

Today we celebrate that independence with speeches, barbeques and family gatherings. With all the unrest in the world today, we pray that the only “rockets’ red glare” we see will be those of fireworks and sparklers. We have the freedom to say whatever we choose, whenever we choose to whomever we choose. Even in this economic climate, we are still one of the richest nations in the world.

Take the time this day to truly celebrate our Independence and thank God for allowing us to live in the “land of the free and the home of the brave.”