To the Editor:
I was ten years old before Independence Day became a federal holiday in 1941, so we might ask why it took so long for Congress to address what the holiday meant in the soul life of the nation.
The history of Independence Day goes back to July 4, 1776–so our present celebration is our nation’s 245th birthday party.
The “party” actually began two days earlier. On July 2, the Continental Congress voted in favor of independence from the British Crown. It took Alexander Hamilton two days to compose a document declaring, justifying, and giving notice to the world that the British colonies in America were no longer British.
On the 4th, after Hamilton had finished the document and “official” copies made, delegates of the thirteen colonies, assembled in Philadelphia, affixed their signatures to the Declaration of Independence. The die was cast. The choice, for better or worse, had been made. Surely, the celebration that followed was overshadowed by the awareness that soon the colonies would be at war with “mother” England.
Ties with England were strong, and it has been estimated that no more than a third of the population enthusiastically supported the revolution. Many were lukewarm, and some were outright opposed. But it was the right choice.
It was a fortuitous choice for the future United States of America, but a disastrous choice for most signers of Hamilton’s stately, measured prose document. The men, whose signatures appear at the bottom of the Declaration, did not fare well during the war that followed. Many lost status, fortunes, families, property, and even life itself for having had the courage to set their colonies–and future states–on the path to self-determination, self-rule, and self-governance.
It’s a cold reminder that courage can be costly, that self-determination is not synonymous with soft, easy living. It is a bitter reminder that independent minds and ways of life most often come by painful separation from whatever they have been dependent upon.
I notice the tendency/trend to refer to Independence Day as Freedom Day, but we shouldn’t make that mistake. Independence is the opposite of dependence, and can be thought of as an aspect of freedom, but independence is not freedom. We can be sealed off from all ties and still not be free in every sense of the word. Freedom Day is a wonderful idea, but let’s give it its own holiday.
Independence is synonymous with autonomy, self-determination, self-governance, self rule, and self-sufficiency. And that makes us think of such things as self-reliance, self worth, and self-esteem. What a smorgasbord of blessings for us to celebrate this weekend!
Bernard Dozier
7444 SW 115th Place
Ocala, FL 34476
Tel. 901-382-3614
E-mail: [email protected]
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