Behind the Digital LensMusings of an Amateur Photographer

30th Jun, 2010 The 4th and Freedom

Independence Day, or more commonly known as The 4th of July, is a day of great celebration for our country.  It is the day that commemorates the adoption of the Declaration of Independence which declared our independence from Great Britain.  Many don’t know that the document was actually dated July 2nd, 1776, not July 4th, 1776, but was approved by Congress on July 4th, thus making this date the date that is recognized as our date of Independence.

This Day of Independence has become a big federal holiday, marked with parades, back yard barbecues, picnics, baseball games, water sports, and, of course, fireworks.  When I was a kid living in Iowa we had a big neighborhood party complete with parade.  All the kids would decorate their bicycles with streamers and cards pinned to the wheel spokes, and some would decorate wagons that the toddlers could ride in, a couple being pulled by bicycles.  It was a big “to do” when we were younger, but as we got to be teens [we were all pretty much the same age], the parade went by the wayside and we focused more on the picnic and party that was held in several conjoining back yards.  My parents, on a trip out West, had stopped one year at a fireworks stand and bought some fireworks, so we’d shoot those off at night  –  bottle rockets, Roman candles, sparklers, and such – giving a good 30 minute “show” to the adults who would “oooh” and “ahhh” appropriately.  In the 1960’s it was still a time of innocence and as children we didn’t really understand the meaning of the holiday except that it provided a day of fun and lots of food.

In this day and time after September 11, 2001 our independence means more than it ever did.  Long gone is the historical battle for freedom from our “Mother” country and the religious impositions that drove citizens to leave in search of of a place to worship freely and without dictation and fear.  Now we strive to maintain, without restriction, the freedoms granted us by that Declaration and our Constitution: our unalienable rights to Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness; the freedom to assemble; the freedom of religious expression; freedom of speech; and freedom to “petition the Government for a redress of grievances”.

We often take photographs of our nations’ flag, that which we sentimentally call “Old Glory”, but when we do so, do we really think of the lives that have been lost defending that flag and our country, or do we just see a symbol, that flag that flies over buildings and in front of schools, something so commonplace we never think of its importance to our history, to our lives?  Freedom came at a price, a huge price for those that believe in this country, that have given their lives for our Independence.

So, on the day that we celebrate with family and friends, with picnics, fun and fireworks, and with camera in hand, let us remember the reason behind this day and humbly pay tribute to something we take for granted: our Freedom.