Making plans for the Fourth of July? We are! On the list is charcoal, lots of grillable meat, corn on the cob, potato salad, watermelon, beer, sparklers, water guns, bug spray, and, of course, extra Brillo pads and wire hangers.
How-to here, not that you should.
And of course, also on the list is a copy of the Declaration of Independence, to be read aloud by my father, while all the little cousins solemnly add a nice layer of dirt to the marshmallow glaze that covers the top halves of their bodies.
Have your children heard the Declaration of Independence? Have you heard it recently yourself? It's not long, and it is magnificent. Who writes like this anymore? This election year especially, these stately and radiant words remind us of how much of our national identity has been lost -- and they exhort us to renew the 236-year-old fight for fundamental freedoms.
Don't forget that today kicks off the Fortnight for Freedom. The USCCB had the great idea of organizing a nationwide "period of prayer, study, catechesis, and public action" from July 21 to July 4th -- beginning with the feasts of martyrs for relgious freedom and ending with Independence Day. Here is a list of dioceses planning special events over the next two weeks.
And what about the Declaration of Independence? It's easy to find online, of course; or Hillsdale College will send you a free booklet with the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. They encourage you to sign up to pledge to read the Declaration aloud as part of your celebrations on the 4th.
Do it! Do it! If you're not familiar with the Declaration, it's not a stuffy or incomprehensible piece of legalese -- it's glorious and exhilarating prose, full drama and emotion. Get your free copy here, and start a new tradition in your family this year. St. John Fisher and St. Thomas More, pray for us!
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Declaration of Independence? That’s the one that freed the slaves from the Nazis, right?
@Tim - You see? This is what happens when you grow up on Berenstain Bears.
Hmmm… Berenstain Bears on Fourth of July does sound intriguing. Berenstain Bears and explosions = Best Fourth of July EVER! (it’s a mathematical truth).
But I guess I’ll read the Declaration of Independence on the 4th. It will be a great way to close the Fortnight of Freedom.
I’m participating in the Fortnight for Freedom at our little church tonight.
History trivia:Did you know that more people signed a pro-British “Declaration of Dependence” than signed the Declaration of Independence? The wording I saw in the pro-British declaration contained anti-Catholic sentiments.I read that New York, South Carolina & Georgia all had large Loyalist sympathizers.
Anyway, I’m glad we won & hope we remain free & vigilant.
Yay, Hillsdale! My Alma Mater! I’ll have to hit them up for one of those free Constitutions.
My husband and I were wondering why there were chairs lining the streets of our downtown already. 4th of July? Really, so early? Then our pastor reminded us to steer clear of downtown this weekend. The church would be locked tight. I wonder what the founding fathers would say if they were given a glimpse of the future, and were forced to watch the “Summer Solstice” parade? Every pagan, aging flower child, and exhibitionist (who would get a citation for indecent exposure any other day of the year)get to dance in the streets and get their freak on. We have three new young priests there, it’s sure to blow their minds. I used to feel a sense of victory when the priest would say mass, raising the host and chalice with the sound of the mob and and the throbbing drums outside, but after some vandalism, I guess the pastor just couldn’t take it. Plenty to atone for this weekend.
What a great idea! Simple, but as you said kids can certainly understand and we can all be inspired by the writing of our nation’s founders.
Or, perhaps, find a copy of Magna Carta, read out loud, repent from the rebellion against a legitimate, if schismatic monarch, and move to Canada.
” As I sometimes put it, the U.S. Constitution poses no serious threat to our form of government.”—Joe Sobran
I recommend that everyone also read “How Tyranny Came to America” by Joe Sobran.—http://www.sobran.com/articles/tyranny.shtml
Posted by Luke on Thursday, Jun 21, 2012 11:07 AM (EST):Or, perhaps, find a copy of Magna Carta, read out loud, repent from the rebellion against a legitimate, if schismatic monarch, and move to Canada.
***
That’s exactly what my ancestors did.Not sure about the Magna Carta part, though.
(Just to add, I did have @ least one who fought on the American side,too.)
Lesee…here in my copy of “The Berenstain Bears and Too Much Independence”, Papa Q. Bear tries to read the Declaration of Independence but runs into trouble when his paws get stuck to the page. Too many marshmallows, Papa! (cue groan and eye-rolling from cubs). Mama sends him in to wash his paws and picks up where he couldn’t manage (again). “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all bears are created equal…”
This is my problem with the whole Fortnight thing: the US has never allowed absolute religious freedom, ever. They have always placed limits on religions according to what they perceived was best for the common good. Mormons can’t practice polygamy. American Indians can’t smoke funny stuff in their religious ceremonies. Nobody is allowed to offer animal or human sacrifice. These are all instances of the govt preventing bad practices, so it’s slightly different from asking the Catholics to pay for (what we perceive) a positive evil. However, in this illogical and hardhearted generation, from the govt standpoint Catholics are practicing evil by denying a “good.” So, I don’t think it’s going to boil down to defending religious freedom. I think the burden of proof will be put upon the Church to prove that contraception is not “a good.” That’s why discussions about this with the other side always end up discussions about contraception. They’re going to the root: Is contraception a good desirable for all or is it not? To them the Church is trying to distract from the real matter at hand by wrapping themselves in US documents. Enlightenment ideals all the way to the heresy of “Americanism” have been inimical to the practice of the Catholic faith in the US. It’s their game and we are upset because they won’t play by our rules.
I want to celebrate the 4th with you (the whole flaming brillo pads thing). DH would never allow anything like that here. Party pooper.
This is insane! It sounds like the cult of the State! The Constitution is simply an arrangement and yes one day it will go and be replaced by something else. Don’t give into idolatry!
Yes there is a status quo….but that is all it is.
By the way no one is created equal. God loves us individually and love mankind…but created equal? NO! This is a French Revolution concept that is clearly false.
We all need to read it, and meditate on it, but especially the Republican Tea Party Element! This Government barely functions because of them! The two party system is obsolete and needs to be changed to 4 or 5 political parties. One of them needs to be a strong Socialist Party to keep the rich at bey! The Majority is supposed to rule-not the 1% of the super rich!
@Chris Forrester on Friday, Jun 22, 2012 5:14 AM (EST): who said:
‘God loves us individually and love mankind…but created equal?’
It was the humble way of the American Congress to paraphrase the Bible. In hindsight: yes, there is such a thing as ‘too much humility’. The Congress should have - straight forward - quoted: “God created man in His image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.” Genesis 1:27.
Keeping this in mind, we read the Declaration of Independence as follows: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration_transcript.html
This is equal enough to me. And the Holy Bible is as authoritative a Document as can Ever Be.
In The Name Of Jesus Christ Amen.
@SIMCHA FISHER Thursday, June 21, 2012 6:00 AM: who said: ’ ... for the Fourth of July ... plan ... to ... read aloud ... the Declaration of Independence ... start a new tradition in your family this year.’
Thank you for the inspiration!
@Posted by Rich Dykstra on Friday, Jun 22, 2012 6:40 AM (EST): who said:
‘We all need to read it, and meditate on it’
It links Heaven and earth if we do.
@Kathleen on Thursday, Jun 21, 2012 8:37 AM (EST): who said:
‘I’m glad we won & hope we remain free & vigilant.’
I agree: to be Free we must be Vigilant; to be Vigilant we must get our Hope into Action:
@SIMCHA FISHER Thursday, June 21, 2012 6:00 AM: who said: ‘Read the Declaration of Independence on July 4th! ... This election year especially, these stately and radiant words remind us ...—and they exhort us to renew the 236-year-old fight for fundamental freedoms.
Don’t forget that today kicks off the Fortnight for Freedom ... the great idea of organizing a nationwide “period of prayer, study, catechesis, and public action”’.
Public Action: let us ask for a Christian president this election year. If no Christian presidential candidate this election year, we the people boycott the elections to the full extent provided by law.
InThe Name Of Jesus Christ Amen.
I’m so glad you know about Hillsdale College!! I was a student there a couple years ago when I discovered your blog, which I now read avidly. Huge fan. :)
I will be reading the Declaration of Independence on July 4th at Pearl Harbor. If you are there… I will share the text and let others read too! Love to meet you all. God Bless America!
read ‘the cousins wars’ by phillips about how neo-Protestant the colonies were. ulsterman protestantism full of zionism for jew and gentile alike. effects our foreign policy even today.
it was these beliefs from the ulsterman zionists that possessed the war cabinet that produced the balfour declaration.>‘origins of christian zionism’ by don lewis.
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