The Conservative Edge

I used to get excited about the 4th of July. When I was a kid, July 4th was the summer’s equivalent of December 25th. I remember certain years in which we had so many fireworks to shoot off, that it took several hours to light them. We would start in late afternoon with the firecrackers, then move to the bottle rockets in early evening. When it became dark, we would light the fountains, spinners, and Roman candles. What a delight! When the explosions were all over, a fog of burned gunpowder hung in the air, resembling a battlefield. The day after, we tended to sore thumbs and ringing ears, but that was a small price to pay for the thrill of setting off those wonderful fireworks.

All these years later, I still enjoy watching a fireworks display at a city park, or some other venue. But I also treasure the sight of the American flag waving in the wind. And, I must confess that I get choked up when I hear “The Star-Spangled Banner.” It may be a challenging song to sing, but when someone gets it right, it’s beautiful to hear.

This year, I’ve been thinking about this holiday’s future. Independence Day has become increasingly more associated with fireworks and cookouts, and I fear that the true meaning has become obscured. I suppose that’s another way that July 4th resembles Christmas. Both holidays seem more oriented to consuming, rather than giving. I hope that Americans will take more time to reflect on the true meaning of the struggle for national independence that our forefathers undertook generations ago. And, with equal importance, we should think ahead to a new struggle that may necessarily arise as American citizens grapple with the growing centralzation of power assumed by our federal government.

I can certainly envision a time in which Americans, out of desperation, physically demonstrate displeasure with local, state, and federal governments. As innovation, industry, prosperity, and opportunity disappear from our land, people will be forced to realize that the government was responsible for the dismantling of the American dream. While that scenario may seem farfetched to some, we must realize that Independence Day commemorates the actions of American colonists against a tyrannical government. That potential for action is why the liberals work so hard to remove the right of the American people to keep and bear arms. An armed populace is the most serious of threats, and the surest of safeguards, against tyranny and control. But if our rights to obtain wealth, to dissent, and to bear arms are removed or negated, then the government will have means to control us at its will.

So I wonder if there will be a new Independence Day celebrated by Americans in another generation or so. We can’t go on much longer at the current rate at which we are losing our freedoms. Maybe there will be a time at which a new revolution of sorts spreads like wildfire across our nation. And perhaps the revolution will not bring a new form of government, but a restoration of what we once had. Then, we will be able to celebrate a different kind of 4th of July holiday.