Saturday, July 4, 2009

4TH OF JULY

Today is a day for friends, fireworks, cookouts, and cold beers. Good times. But it's easy to forget what really happened on this day in 1776. Not only did we declare our Independence and start a revolution, but set in motion a chain of events that would change world history. Not just for America either. Our fight for Independence inspired the French Revolution in 1789, a Chinese student to stand up to tanks in Tiananmen Square, Lincoln to engage the Enacipation Proclamation, and women to fight for equal rights. The Declaration of Independence is a transformative document who's genius lies in the fact that it has a malleability written into it - for all men to engage in "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" - a phrase purposely vague that allows it to remain powerful in it's relevancy almost 250 years later. So when you're watching Cousin Bob shoot a bottle rocket out of his butt cheeks or tossing an M80 into the potato salad remember that all the fireworks really represent the power of those words penned by Mr. Jefferson two hundred and thirty three years ago today. Stay strong.