Do Not Celebrate the "4th of July"

[Guest shiloh357]

The “4th of July” is not a holiday. Any more than the “5th of July” is. They are dates on the calendar. The holiday we celebrate which falls on the 4th day of every July is America’s “Independence Day.” “Independence Day” is the holiday, yet over the years we’ve become conditioned to drop the name and instead refer to the date.

Is it small? Is it subtle? Yes on both counts. But is it petty? Absolutely not.

We live in a nation wherein our leadership just changed the Oath of Allegiance (legal) immigrants to our nation must take so as to exclude the former requirement to pledge to defend America. We live in a nation where our leader, the President of the United States of America, while standing on foreign soil, apologizes for our nation’s behavior and calls America “arrogant.”

 

Where our countrymen plea for assistance to our leaders to come save their lives but instead are left to fend for themselves and perish.

We are currently being led by individuals for whom our sense of national pride is foolishness and the acknowledgement of American exceptionalism is viewed as a delusion of imperialistic grandeur. “How dare we think we’re better than anybody else?!”

Well you know what? We are.

America-hating globalists, many of whom call America home, would love to see certain memories fade, certain attitudes dumbed down and certain practices ceased. Practices such as the celebration of America’s Independence and subsequent rise to become the greatest superpower in the history of planet earth. They’re prefer to see America descend, not continue to ascend and by just about any objective observation, for the past seven and a half years we have been descending.

They would love to see us forever say and celebrate “the 4th of July” with as little or no reference to exactly what we’re celebrating on that date as possible. They’d like to see the words and memories scrubbed from history books, not taught in schools, dropped from the public conscience. And in these efforts they are in many ways succeeding.

Read More At:

http://thefederalistpapers.org/us/why-you-must-refuse-to-celebrate-the-4th-of-july-this-year?utm_source=BPR&utm_medium=BPR&utm_campaign=BPR

[bryan]

Freedom is not free. Free men are not equal. Equal men are not free.

[LadyKay]

I wish people would stop telling me what to do. 

[Sower]

Agreed

The patriots that fought, and died, for our independence, was only about a third of the population. I couldn't guess what percentage today would be willing to die for our great country. The rest of the colonist back then  were considered sunshine patriots, those who come out when the sun is shining, when the battle is over, and join whomsoever won.  Even on this forum, I have had to defend our country, from those critics, and cause to remember how our country has been instrumental in keeping local languages from changing to that of foreign invaders. We as a country are frequently criticized for our interference throughout  the world.  Just a big bully swinging a big stick. But those old enough to remember welcomed out "interference" gladly, when they were over run by foreign invaders. All we ask for our support was a piece of ground to bury our countrymen who fought and died. My father, uncles, grandfather and myself, have left our country to fight for other country's in need. My family knows what independence day represents, as two generation  home schoolers,  we bought those used history books the government schools were replacing with the new PC correct agenda. Our country is blessed, the vast majority haven't an inkling of understanding the horrors of war, firsthand,  of being taken over by a more powerful and sinister power, marching across our soil. War is brutal, and keeping ready for it is paramount. But more important is the mindset of our citizens. The belief of our purpose as a country equipped to come to the aid of those less able. Our previous "president" has instilled a real sense of guilt and shame upon willing ears, to those who don't know any better, those who have not seen,  disasters  our country has helped to avoid worldwide. We have made many mistakes, for sure, but press on.   God has blessed our country mightily,  and I believe for His purposes. It's such a sad feeling to see in just my own life, how much we have changed.          ..................But what is a critic anyway?

 

      THE MAN IN THE ARENA ..... Theodore Roosevelt
                                          Excerpt from the speech "Citizenship In A Republic"
                                          delivered at the Sorbonne, in Paris, France on 23 April, 1910
                                         

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.

[warrior12]

3 hours ago, shiloh357 said:

We are currently being led by individuals for whom our sense of national pride is foolishness and the acknowledgement of American exceptionalism is viewed as a delusion of imperialistic grandeur. “How dare we think we’re better than anybody else?!”

Well you know what? We are.

No doubt about it, America is still a great nation that has made revolutionary strides in world achievements and inventions.   Great monuments and institutions has been created which has created pride and the turn away moment from the true creator of all things.  In this respect, she has begun to loose it's respect that she once commanded and had from the world.   Like all empires that ruled the world, the eventual fall from trying to hold on to ultimate power degrades and who knows, maybe would be replace by another.    She now promotes the filthy abominations to the world through this very medium we are corresponding with and others.  Though, she has helped and come to the rescue of many nations and disasters that have taken place over the years, one that she failed horribly in was the Rawanda Genocide that she stood by and let hundred of thousands die when she had the power to STOP it.    Americans should have national pride and  love the country they live in, as it is a beautiful country too, full of treasures and landscapes.  But we have to remember also, certain pride leads to  downfall.

Yes, your point is taken, Independence and freedom should be celebrated and observed and not just a date.

Proverbs 16   King James Version (KJV)

¹⁸ Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.

 

[Jaydog1976]

6 hours ago, shiloh357 said:

The “4th of July” is not a holiday. Any more than the “5th of July” is. They are dates on the calendar. The holiday we celebrate which falls on the 4th day of every July is America’s “Independence Day.” “Independence Day” is the holiday, yet over the years we’ve become conditioned to drop the name and instead refer to the date.

Is it small? Is it subtle? Yes on both counts. But is it petty? Absolutely not.

We live in a nation wherein our leadership just changed the Oath of Allegiance (legal) immigrants to our nation must take so as to exclude the former requirement to pledge to defend America. We live in a nation where our leader, the President of the United States of America, while standing on foreign soil, apologizes for our nation’s behavior and calls America “arrogant.”

 

Where our countrymen plea for assistance to our leaders to come save their lives but instead are left to fend for themselves and perish.

We are currently being led by individuals for whom our sense of national pride is foolishness and the acknowledgement of American exceptionalism is viewed as a delusion of imperialistic grandeur. “How dare we think we’re better than anybody else?!”

Well you know what? We are.

America-hating globalists, many of whom call America home, would love to see certain memories fade, certain attitudes dumbed down and certain practices ceased. Practices such as the celebration of America’s Independence and subsequent rise to become the greatest superpower in the history of planet earth. They’re prefer to see America descend, not continue to ascend and by just about any objective observation, for the past seven and a half years we have been descending.

They would love to see us forever say and celebrate “the 4th of July” with as little or no reference to exactly what we’re celebrating on that date as possible. They’d like to see the words and memories scrubbed from history books, not taught in schools, dropped from the public conscience. And in these efforts they are in many ways succeeding.

Read More At:

http://thefederalistpapers.org/us/why-you-must-refuse-to-celebrate-the-4th-of-july-this-year?utm_source=BPR&utm_medium=BPR&utm_campaign=BPR

So do you feel better now that you got that off your chest? I felt this was more ranting and raving over an opinion than actually hardcore facts. Sure the US is going down the tubes but just because I call it the 4th of July doesn't mean I've been duped by the government or have been slowly brainwashed by it over time by it. I am as patriotic as they come and I have no problem calling it the 4th of July and will continue to call it such because it is what we celebrate it for that is the important part not the title. Just by two cents. 

[Guest shiloh357]

Just now, Jaydog1976 said:

So do you feel better now that you got that off your chest? I felt this was more ranting and raving over an opinion than actually hardcore facts. Sure the US is going down the tubes but just because I call it the 4th of July doesn't mean I've been duped by the government or have been slowly brainwashed by it over time by it. I am as patriotic as they come and I have no problem calling it the 4th of July and will continue to call it such because it is what we celebrate it for that is the important part not the title. Just by two cents. 

Looks to me like you're the one doing the ranting.  I simply posted an interesting article.

[Neighbor]

What if I celebrate the third, and observe the 4th as Independence day? Yes  it is July 3rd, whoopie a day off! Oh wait I took a leave of absence for the summer. Well bummer I'm off anyway-

[Kate]

I, as well as thousands of Americans, celebrate America's Independence on July 4. Always have, always will. No one will ever change that.

The Continental Congress approved the final wording of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. They'd been working on it for a couple of days after the draft was submitted on July 2nd and finally agreed on all of the edits and changes.

July 4, 1776, became the date that was included on the Declaration of Independence, and the fancy handwritten copy that was signed in August (the copy now displayed at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.) It’s also the date that was printed on the Dunlap Broadsides, the original printed copies of the Declaration that were circulated throughout the new nation. So when people thought of the Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776 was the date they remembered.

[Sower]

Lest we forget..

Kinda like,

" Happy twenty fifth of December" or  "Happy Holidays"             

"Washington's Birthday"   now presidents day    (Any and all, presidents, regardless of merit or impeachment's)

America celebrates July 4 as Independence Day because it was on July 4, 1776, that members of the Second Continental Congress, meeting in Philadelphia, adopted the final draft of the Declaration of Independence.

 

America's biggest secular holiday

Spontaneous Celebrations

Following its adoption, the Declaration was read to the public in various American cities. Whenever they heard it, patriots erupted in cheers and celebrations.

In 1777, Philadelphians remembered the 4th of July. Bells were rung, guns fired, candles lighted, and firecrackers set off. However, while the War of Independence dragged on, July 4 celebrations were modest at best.

When the war ended in 1783, July 4 became a holiday in some places. In Boston, it replaced the date of the Boston Massacre, March 5, as the major patriotic holiday. Speeches, military events, parades, and fireworks marked the day. In 1941, Congress declared July 4 a federal holiday.

Picnics and Games

Over time, various other summertime activities also came to be associated with the Fourth of July, including historical pageants, picnics, baseball games, watermelon-eating contests, and trips to the beach. Common foods include hot dogs, hamburgers, corn on the cob, apple pie, cole slaw, and sometimes clam bakes.

Colonial Attractions

While the Fourth is celebrated across the country, historic cities like Boston and Philadelphia draw huge crowds to their festivities.

In Boston, the USS John F. Kennedy often sails into the harbor, while the Boston Pops Orchestra holds a televised concert on the banks of the Charles River, featuring American music and ending with the 1812 Overture.

Philadelphia holds its celebrations at Independence Hall, where historic scenes are reenacted and the Declaration of Independence is read.

Rodeos and Candles

Other interesting parties include the American Indian rodeo and three-day pow-wow in Flagstaff, Arizona, and the Lititz, Pennsylvania, candle festival, where hundred of candles are floated in water and a "Queen of Candles" is chosen.

John Adams Urged Recognition

The second president, John Adams, would have approved. "I believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival," he wrote his wife, Abigail. "It ought to be celebrated by pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations from one end of this continent to the other..."

John Hancock Was First

John Hancock, the president of the Second Continental Congress, was the first to sign the Declaration. With its ornate capitals, Hancock's sprawling signature is prominent on the document. Since then, when people are asked for their "John Hancock," they are being asked to sign their names.

All 56 men who ultimately signed the Declaration showed great courage. Announcing independence from Great Britain was an act of treason, punishable by death.

A Marvelous Document

The Declaration of Independence itself has become one of the most admired and copied political documents of all time. It was written by Thomas Jefferson and revised by John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and Jefferson.

The Declaration of Independence is a justification of the American Revolution, citing grievances against King George III. It is also a landmark philosophical statement, drawing on the writings of philosophers John Locke and Jean Jacques Rousseau. It affirms that since all people are creatures of God, or nature, they have certain natural rights, or liberties, that cannot be violated.

The Declaration and the American Revolution have since inspired freedom-seekers the around the world.