Celebrating Independence every day

With Independence Day having happened Tuesday, everyone is probably sorting through pictures of fireworks shows and family gatherings while reflecting on the time they spent celebrating.

When I think of Independence Day, I think of all the times I spent with my family camping and watching fireworks. July 3 was my late aunt’s birthday, and we’d all gather to celebrate the Nation’s birthday and hers. So this holiday has always been special to me.

Besides the celebration, bright fireworks, and the belting of patriotic songs of my childhood, I found myself drawn to learning history as I grew up.

Some people consider Independence Day a day to get off work. On July 4, 1776, the celebration was just the beginning for a nation of 13 colonies that had just claimed independence from Great Britain.

On the morning of July 5, members of Congress dispatched the first copies of the Declaration of Independence they’d adopted the previous day to various committees, assemblies, and the commanders of the Continental troops.

The following day, the Pennsylvania Evening Post presented the first newspaper printing of the Declaration of Independence, which was the primary way that Americans of the day could learn of the revolution that had just happened.

Today, the Fourth of July is just a day to many, but to those in 1776, it was a beginning. I can only imagine how the people picked up their newspapers and read about the newborn Nation’s freedom from a tyrannical government and the tears families shed over the young men who fought so hard to obtain that freedom for generations to come.

On July 19, 1776, Congress ordered the Declaration engrossed on parchment, and on August 2, they signed it.

It’s wild to think we celebrate a day when it took months to be official. The freedom they fought for took an immense amount of time, and men who wanted to give their children freedom died to get it.

The war began in 1775, and the American colonies did it without an organized army, just local militias.

George Washington, a Virginia farmer, was their general. Washington believed in independence and was willing to risk his life for it. He had fought for the British and knew how to fight them. At only 21 years old, Washington led the revolution.

How many young men fought and died to get us to this day of festive freedom?

We celebrate the Fourth of July because that was the day that all those men’s efforts came to fruition, and every day after that, our ancestors and we have been allowed to live free.

So while gathering with family and friends is always exciting, celebrating with bbqs, fireworks, and good old-fashioned camaraderie every year, there’s so much more to July. That day they declared the Nation’s freedom and the freedom we practice daily.

I’m sure they felt it in their bones that day, the pride of being a part of something bigger, how amazing it must have felt to be alive. That could be something America has lost nowadays: pride in being part of something worth fighting for.

I can’t help but think about what those men did back then to ensure the life I’m living now. I’m free because they made it happen on that day in 1776, and the time after that is still secured for me and every other American who can celebrate their freedom.

I’m proud to say I’m an American and get to be a product of that history. My flag will be flying proudly in honor of every man who fought under it in 1776 and for every man and woman who has given up their life since then.

Our Nation’s Declaration of Independence was more than just a day; it was a lifetime given for freedom.

That’s something worth celebrating daily.

–– Teresa Simpson is a reporter for the Whitman County Gazette. She can be contacted at news@wcgazette.com