Our Independence Day Celebrations
There is nothing quite like The Fourth of July.
There are nothing but happy memories surrounding it! I suppose things have happened which weren’t, but I just don’t remember them. What I do remember are baseball games with my friends, swimming all day at the pool, an annual pony ride, picnics and lots of fireworks. I remember specific celebrations with clarity. When my Uncle Bob died, we went to Pittsburgh to gather with Aunt Dottie. Everyone went to the fireworks display together, and it was so spectacular! Streams of red, white and blue filled the sky from the clouds to the ground. It was raining patriotic celebration. I think Uncle Bob was lighting them with a cigar in heaven! I remember putting my babies on blankets at our country club in Danville, and making all of the “ooh and ahh” sounds my parents made with me on the same hillside years before. I remember lots of potato salad.
“You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbee’s, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness. You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism.”
The founders of our country set up a dynamic system of freedom. We have come together each 4th of July to celebrate the truths which seemed self-evident 244 years ago...and remains so today. We are all created equal. This allows us to have deep feelings of home, patriotism and an abiding connection with each other. Each year at this time we gather from sea to shining sea. Disgruntled partisans can put aside their quarrels with the knowledge that our virtues far outweigh our shortcomings.
I remember the bi-centennial party at The Sandusky Homestead with all of my relatives and how awesome it was to be in our family home built just a little more than fifty years after the signing of The Declaration of Independence. Since then there have been so many celebrations. Each adding to the treasure trove of rich memories. This year will be different. The pandemic will keep a lot of the festivities muted or cancelled. But, we will get through this and past it. The hoopla and regalia will return in full force. In the meantime, here is a suggestion. Watch this little vignette from "The Sandlot" for a touch of tear jerking nostalgia. Happy Independence Day to one and all.
We Hold These Truths To Be Self Evident
This is our country. It is a land where hope and faith in tomorrow have forged a unique system of democracy which always looks forward.
Can it be true that Americans are alienated? Have we lost hope in the future? Do many of us feel that we don't matter? These questions weigh heavily as this Fourth of July arrives.There seems to be so much disdain for the beliefs and values of those on the other side. We have forgotten that the turmoil we're in has always gone, to one degree or another, with the territory. It's actually something to celebrate.I think it is a good time to steal back some of our open-minded, multi-partisan patriotism and present it to one another without fear. This is our country.
It is a land where hope and faith in tomorrow have forged a unique system of democracy which always looks forward. We must never waive or compromise our fundamental and unalienable rights. Our sins cannot define us unless we decide to wallow in them. Our goodness can guide the course of our ship with a compass whose true north always points us to unfettered freedom for one and all.
"The American, by nature, is optimistic. He is experimental, an inventor, and a builder who builds best when called upon to build greatly." ~ John F. Kennedy
Robert Kenneth Jones is an innovator in the treatment of addiction and childhood abuse.In a career spanning over four decades, his work helping people recover from childhood abuse and addiction has earned him the respect of his peers.His blog, An Elephant for Breakfast, testifies to the power of the human spirit to overcome the worst of life’s difficulties. We encourage you to visit and share this rich source of healing, inspiration and meditation.
Contact Bob Jones on Linkedin
Bob Jones’ blog An Elephant for Breakfast
From Sea to Shining Sea
We who believe in freedom cannot rest
“Territory is but the body of a nation. The people who inhabit its hills and valleys are its soul, its spirit, its life.” ~ James Garfield (20th U.S. President)
We are approaching the celebration of our national holiday which marks a bold declaration of independence followed by 242 years of struggle for freedom. We are a nation becoming. This great experiment in democracy has overcome many obstacles, flaws, and shortcomings while never resting in a quest of liberty and justice for all.Is any amount of fireworks, colorful parades or waving of flags too flamboyant or dramatic on The Fourth of July? I think not. Independence Day is no small event. For it is not that we are just a great country. We celebrate because we are a diverse and determined people who will not be satisfied.
In the words of the song for Ella Baker, “We who believe in freedom cannot rest until it comes.”
Each year at this time we are welcomed back home from sea to shining sea with all differences set aside. Disgruntled people on the extreme right or left of our political spectrum for at least one day can stop their quarrels with the knowledge that our virtues far outweigh our shortcomings.
Robert Kenneth Jones is an innovator in the treatment of addiction and childhood abuse.In a career spanning over four decades, his work helping people recover from childhood abuse and addiction has earned him the respect of his peers.His blog, An Elephant for Breakfast, testifies to the power of the human spirit to overcome the worst of life’s difficulties. We encourage you to visit and share this rich source of healing, inspiration and meditation.
Contact Bob Jones on Linkedin
Bob Jones’ blog An Elephant for Breakfast