The Fourth of July
by Charles C. Hall, Ed.D

"To conquer fear, one must first conquer oneself."

--John Adams

When Benjamin Franklin emerged from the forum in which he had just signed the Declaration of Independence (DOI), he was asked by a citizen, "What have you given us, Mr. Franklin?" "A Republic, if you can keep it," Franklin replied.

The two-hundred-plus years since that august body took the bold step of becoming traitors to the English Crown and King George IV's Britain have seen many interpretations to that Document while keeping its main focus, the right of free peoples to decide their own course. James Madison penned the Bill of Rights (BOR) without which the Declaration would be merely a profound statement. The BOR and the DOI form the backbone of the country in which we live.

Four-hundred years ago, the first of many later immigrants stepped ashore into the Colony of North America. This country was but a part of Britain's empire-to-be (India, Australia, Canada, so forth and so on). Pax Britannia became a mighty empire, for a while. These first white settlers were members of companies controlled by wealthy English merchants who intended to reap the benefits of trade and raw materials produced by their colonial "employees. " That is, if they could survive under the harsh conditions of a raw frontier.

It was "touch-and-go" for a number of years, but these first settlers eventually succeeded with the help from the folks already here -- Native Americans. The loyalties of the colonists were to the English Crown and to the merchants who brought them here. It would be over a hundred years before agitations began to surface toward independence from Britian.

During that period, many more immigrants fled Europe and Britain due to religious oppression, the Spanish Inquisition, the widespread witch hunts which gripped the continent, Ireland, Scotland, and England itself. Through torture by draw and quarter, burning at the stake, and other inhuman practices, the Church of England and the Popes of Rome spread fear and mayhem across the land.

The new arrivals brought to these shores their former customs, superstitions, folk magic and attitudes of the countries from which they fled. It required many decades of enlightened thought for them to reach the momentous decision to become a new nation.

Black slaves from Africa and the Caribbean were among the new arrivals, and ultimately became the majority population in much of the south. Thomas Jefferson and many of the signatories of our Declaration were slave holders. They could see no way of freeing the slaves without scuttling the desire for independence from Britain. The slavery cancer grew until it finally burst in the Civil War of the 1860s. But slaves still had few rights. It was another hundred years before the Civil Rights legislation passed into law, to the dismay of many of our countrymen.

Fourth of July speeches have been made for many years, mostly hot air from some blowhard, simpleton, politician trying to burnish his tarnished image.

The saving grace of this country has been from those of us who truly love our country and do not require some political flock to tell us how great we are, or what this country means to us. The families of our uniformed services, especially those who have lost a loved one, certainly do not need a senseless speech to remind them of their sacrifices. The Soldiers, Sailors and Marines, who have made the ultimate sacrifice in the myraid conflicts around the world are the ones to whom I honor on this occasion. Their blood is represented in the red stripes of our national flag, to me. I think of them frequently, not simply on a particular date on a calendar. When I pop a few fireworks, I do it for them as I know they would do the same for me.

A few years ago, we had a big "popoff" in the back yard. Jo and Fred Stauber were visiting at the time. After we swilled burgers and homemade ice cream, we drew up some chairs out back after dark and awaited the show. Mark, Claude and I began the Big Bang. Pogo had never seen or heard a rocket explode and head skyward. When the first one burst, he jumped into Fred's lap and started climbing -- to the top of poor Fred's head trying to get as far away from the sound and fury as possible. Scratched ole Fred's scalp up a bit, otherwise both survived. Pogo was sent to his room. We all got a big hoohaw out of the scene. The next rocket knocked over the launch tube, and the rocket flew between my legs on its fiery trip. It was definitely time to make a few corrections to the stability of our launch pad. Which we did.

We have had many rocket launches since then, but none quite so memorable. Jo and Fred pass when we ask if they want to watch "the show." Pogo stays in the house under the coffee table. So it goes . . .

I have no idea how others feel about the Fourth, only what I feel. I know that I am fortunate to have been born in this country, warts and all. My wish is that our troops will very soon leave Iraq, and that the war-torn country can find its own peace.

So it goes . . .