July 4th a time for celebration
The Fourth of July gives every American an unparalleled opportunity and reason to rejoice and celebrate. Especially with the myriad challenges that our beleaguered nation faces, we have to understand, insist upon, and resolve to protect our freedoms. Our country, despite many lamentable and embarrassing examples of political divisiveness, compromised and even complete failures of leadership, and ubiquitous violence, still has what it takes to guarantee the freedom of its citizens.
Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black proclaimed more than a half century ago, “We must not be afraid to be free.” That is precisely what Americans fought for centuries ago when striving to gain independence from England. Countless people sacrificed their lives so that we could enjoy the gifts of that independence. We must continue to honor that legacy bequeathed to us.
Independence doesn’t imply isolation from one another or mean that one can do anything one wants; rather, it requires and emphasizes how much we all need each other. Valuing ourselves and others is crucial for our freedom.
In addition to the inde- pendence we achieved from England are other freedoms that we all seek and fight for. They were historically and poignantly identified for us by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in his Jan. 6, 1941, State of the Union address to Congress ( known as the “Four Freedoms” speech). In it he proclaimed that all people are entitled to the following four freedoms: freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from fear, and freedom from want.
Norman Rockwell, the legendary artist, memorialized each of these freedoms in his historic paintings in 1943.
Those four freedoms must be preserved and endure. All people are equally entitled to receive the benefits and possibilities inherent in those freedoms.
The delicate and noble experiment of democracy in America these days may be fraught with complications. Please don’t take your freedoms for granted; protect and revere them. We must not abrogate our responsibilities to do so, in order that our beloved democracy will not only succeed, but thrive and prevail.
Happy holiday.