Happy Birthday America

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A Star-Spangled Holiday

 

An Editorial

July 3, 2006

 

Independence Day begins early every year with the whistles of errant

bottle rockets and the sharp cracks of firecrackers. Perhaps it's the

sunny summer weather that follows the soggy spring, but July Fourth is a

happy holiday.

 

Instead of the sonorous tones of " Taps, " or the even more moving

moments of silence that resonate on Memorial Day, Independence Day

explodes with sharp, celebratory sounds -- blares from bugles and trills

from fifes, peals from bells and blasts, the snap, crackle, boom of

fireworks, accompanied by breathless ooohs and ahhs.

 

Yet, we must not forget that the freedom we celebrate today with

barbecues and fireworks was paid for -- and is still being bought --

with the blood of our finest. The rockets' red glare and the bombs

bursting in the air, which have become integral parts of the

celebration, were essential to its foundation. In fact, Francis Scott

Key was inspired to write our national anthem after watching a British

attack on Fort McHenry, not far from Baltimore. " The Star-Spangled

Banner " resonates, not simply because of its poetry, but because of the

proud parable of the American spirit that it tells.

 

The story within the first stanza, which most of us mumble or at

least sing poorly through, is worth repeating. The flag of a newly

formed nation then at war with the greatest military power of the time

flew proudly and defiantly at the twilight's last gleaming. But then

came the night and the battle. The cannoning and the confusion, the

smoke and the screams. The long, perilous hours of uncertainty in which

the broad stripes and bright stars of the flag showed up only

intermittently between the bursting rockets and bombs. Key probably

feared more than once that all was lost. But then, by the dawn's early

light, he saw that the banner was still there, waving proudly over the

land of the free and the home of the brave.

 

Fort McHenry's defenders were under fire for more than 24 hours,

but they were far from the only ones who have bled and died while

defending the freedom that " The Star-Spangled Banner " represents. Poet

Henry H. Bennett caught the proper spirit of Independence Day in his

poem " The Flag Goes By. " He wrote: " Blue and crimson and white it

shines, Over the steel-tipped, ordered lines. Hats off! The colors that

before us fly; But more than the flag is passing by. Sea-fights and

land-fights, grim and great, Fought to make and to save the State: Weary

marches and sinking ships; Cheers of victory on dying lips; Days of

plenty and years of peace; March of a strong land's swift increase;

Equal justice, right and law, Stately honor and reverend awe; Sign of a

nation, great and strong, Toward her people from foreign wrong: Pride

and glory and honor all, Live in the colors to stand and fall. "

 

In many ways, the first Independence Day, on July 4, 1776, was the

first occasion that tyrants had anything to fear, although it was far

from apparent at the time. America, a land based on the self-evident

truths that all men are created equal and endowed by God with certain

inalienable rights, was a unique creation in history. Few expected it to

survive long.

 

Moreover, with their emphatic Declaration of Independence the

sudden citizens of the newly born nation knew that they might not long

enjoy either liberty or life. Many did not. Yet, a public celebration,

including the ringing of the Liberty Bell, accompanied the first public

reading of the Declaration of Independence on July 8, 1776. It was a

jubilant day, announced even by the inscription on the Liberty Bell.

" Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto the inhabitantsthereof, "

comes from a Bible verse(Leviticus 25:10) announcing the official

establishment of a year of commemoration.

 

The day the Declaration of Independence was voted on " will be the

most memorable Epocha, in the history of America, " John Adams wrote to

his wife Abigail in 1776. " I am apt to believe that it will be

celebrated, by succeeding generations, as the great anniversary

festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by

solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with

pomp and parade, with shews, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and

illuminations from one end of this continent to the other from this time

forward forevermore. "

 

That's what Independence Day remains -- a day to celebrate our

liberty and the blessings that have come from it. That lesson -- and

that gift -- was passed on by our forefathers long ago. It's a spirit

that we must tend; a trust we must keep. Still, the real proof of

liberty lies not in the printed word, no matter how eloquent, but rather

in the enjoyment of liberties, no matter how mundane. To that end, we

encourage our readers to celebrate our freedom with friends, family and,

of course, fireworks.

 

Yet, as we celebrate, let us not forget those who are far from home

preserving our independence through the RPGs of regime loyalists and

insurgents in Iraq and the bullets of al Qaeda in Afghanistan. We must

remember our soldiers who are fighting -- and dying -- to pass on that

spirit of independence, a faint echo from the Liberty Bell, to former

prisoners and slaves.

 

During his recent surprise visit to Iraq, President Bush told U.S.

soldiers, " I truly believe the work that you are doing is laying the

foundations of peace for generations to come. " At a joint press

conference, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said: " Today, with the grace

of God, after getting rid of the dictatorship, violence, terrorism,

oppression, absolute power and the ruling party, our country became one

where all Iraqis can live in equality and freedom. This is the first

time that we in Iraq have such freedom, the freedom of press, political

freedom and a diverse government. "

 

As democracy in Iraq grows, slowly, and at times painfully, the

promise of freedom will continue to lead the country. There is, as

Alexander Hamilton wrote in 1774, " a certain enthusiasm in liberty, that

makes human nature rise above itself in acts of bravery and heroism. "

And with that courage, buttressed so by liberty and the promise of

freedom, the world's newest democracy will forge its own path, through

hardship and toil, to peace and stability. And the valor and the

sacrifices made by American soldiers and ordinary Iraqis alike will be

rightly honored.

 

Happy Fourth of July 2006 !!!

 

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Birthday greetings for a beauty

 

By Suzanne Fields

July 3, 2006

 

Most of us revel in the freedom to celebrate the Fourth of July by

lighting a match to Roman candles and watching the rocket's red glare,

while munching on hot dogs, fried chicken and potato salad. The reasons

why are pushed to the back of memory. A birthday party, after all, is a

birthday party.

 

Nevertheless, in a season when it's the fashion to deconstruct the

Founding Fathers, to consider their flaws and not their profundity, it's

only charity to pass along some illuminating stories that testify to the

ways they did what they did to make it possible to change the things

that from time to time ought to be changed.

 

Put aside whether young George Washington actually chopped down

his father's favorite cherry tree. (He apparently did not.) But George,

the man, did lead a remarkable group of young men to create an original

Constitution over four hot months in Philadelphia in the summer of 1787.

Silent George sat in a chair (not a throne) and rarely said anything,

letting the young men work things out. He imposed one singular rule that

probably wouldn't work today. He told them that no scribblers would be

allowed to watch the proceedings because if every item under discussion

made its way into the newspapers nothing would be settled. Keep your

handwritten notes to yourselves, he warned.

 

When someone dropped his notes and they found their way onto

George's desk, Washington asked whether anyone wanted to claim them. No

one did. He ran a tight ship with no leaks. That alone was reason enough

to make him the first president of the barely united states.

 

John Adams, who followed him to the first office, stressed the

need for a virtuous citizenry. (Talk about somethingthat wouldn't fly

today.) " Pure religion or austere morals, " he said, will keep the ship

of state afloat. Rather than stress individual rights and individualism

as the accepted modus vivendi, he preached that the common good depended

on communitarianism -- civic participation through community groups.

Alexis de Tocqueville saw this idea still rooted in American life when

he visited America a half-century later, but such sentiment lives now

only in nostalgia. Robert Putnam, author of " Bowling Alone: America's

Declining Social Capital, " observed only a decade ago that Americans

increasingly bowl alone -- evidence of the decline of community spirit.

 

It's our third president, however, whose reputation has suffered

since he was elevated to Mount Rushmore. Although George Washington held

slaves, too, he freed them on his death. Thomas Jefferson, who saw no

virtue in thrift and enjoyed English antiques and French wine, thought

it impossible to free most of his slaves on his death, and he bequeathed

mostly debt to his heirs. He understood the evil of men owning men and

was an emancipationist in theory, but he couldn't -- or wouldn't -- find

a way to right his own personal wrong. Observes historian Paul Johnson,

" if Jefferson's principles were strong, his appetites were stronger. " If

we can't quite forgive Jefferson this personal failing, we can thank him

for the perfection of the first sentence in the Declaration of

Independence, appealing to truths that are " self-evident " to be accepted

and acted on by all, making possible all that would follow -- including

the freeing of the slaves.

 

As Thomas Jefferson's reputation has declined, George Washington's

has ascended. The first president is no longer considered the aloof

patrician or the man with funny wooden teeth (which were actually carved

from hippopotamus tusks). Contemporary scholars cite Washington's

character and principles as the foundation on which the republic was built.

 

He maintained order and decorum at the Constitutional Convention

in Philadelphia, never wavering in his belief that most men are guided

by selfishness and require a government to keep appetites in check. To

expect ordinary men and women to be influenced by any principles other

than self-interest, he said, " is to look for what never did and I fear

never will happen. "

 

He could agree with the sentiments of James Madison as expressed

in Federalist 51: " If men were angels, no government would be necessary.

If angels were to govern, neither external nor internal controls on

government would be necessary. In forming a government which is to be

administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you

must first enable government to control the governed; and in the next

place oblige it to control itself. "

 

Happy Birthday, America the Beautiful.

 

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(My note: These flags were purchased on Flag Day, 14 June 2006.)

 

Los Angeles Times: Really Old Glory

 

American flags may not be safe from burning, but this one (Butch's note:

flag not shown) at least, is finally safe from the British. Last week,

after more than two centuries in British hands, it was purchased at

Sotheby's by an anonymous telephone bidder for $12.3 million.

 

Auctioneer David Redden wouldn't confirm that the flag below (and three

others that sold with it for an additional $5.1 million) had been bought

by an American, but before the auction he said, " I'll eat my hat if they

don't remain in the country. " After the bidding, he said only that " I

won't have to eat my hat. "

 

The four Revolutionary War-era flags were the last in British hands, and

the only ones still privately owned.

 

Their seller, Christopher Tarleton Fagan, a 70-year-old former British

army captain, is the great-great-great-great-nephew of Lt. Col. Banastre

" The Butcher " Tarleton, who captured the hand-painted silk flag at a

bloody battle. It's the oldest surviving American flag to feature 13

red and white stripes, though it's missing stars, not required on U.S.

flags made before 1777. However, it was likely made in the U.S.A., a

name coined sometime before July 4, 1776.

 

For background info on Lt. Col. Banastre Tarleton, see:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banastre_Tarleton

 

FREEDOM

* Annual Fourth of July Picnic *

 

NO Alcoholic Beverages, NO Glass Containers, NO Fireworks, NO Smoking,

NO Pets, NO Offense Utterances, NO Food From Outside, NO Loud Music.

Other Prohibitions Will Be Posted At Picnic Area. Current Photo is

Required For Admittance.