Independence Day, July 4 - What Does It Mean to You?
Posted: Monday, June 29, 2009
by Gregory Wight
Independence Day is not just the day that we won our freedom from England. It is not just the day that we won our freedom from an oppressor. Independence Day is a celebration of all that we take for granted and more.
We have so much to be grateful for in all of the freedoms that we enjoy. There are so many other nations and peoples who have much less materially and intellectually. Independence Day is like a Thanksgiving Day to me. In fact it is bigger in my life than any other day of the year that is celebrated because of the freedoms that it represents.
I came here as a child, so I never really thought of myself as a foreigner. It was not until I tried to enlist in the Military that I discovered that I was not a citizen. Strange how little things can be overlooked by our parents. I always knew that I was foreign born, but never thought for an instant that I was not an American. It was a great wakeup call for me in learning that if I left the country that I might never be allowed to return. Sometimes we do not realize what we have until we are faced with losing it.
Independence Day is a day of freedom. A day to rejoice and celebrate in any way that we choose, because we have the freedom of choice, and Independence Day is a day that we can share in acknowledging our freedoms and our liberties with others.
This Article has been viewed 422 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
Top-level comments on this article: (4 total)Thanks for sharing your thoughts Gregory. Too many take this great country for granted.MarkThank you for the comment and vote! I wrote this without any preparation. It came from my heart.
Gregory=Thanks for sharing your views! I can see how finding out so late could have a huge impact! Thanks for the reminder of how blessed we are to have freedoms!Yes. I really think that I belong to a minority in never finding out that I was a citizen of another country all the while I grew up here in the US. Even my father was astonished.
My father thought that since he was in the military that I was automatically an American Citizen. It really does make me much more aware of the freedoms that we have as Americans.Gregory! I would have thought the same thing as your father! Thanks for the information!
Gregory, what a scary thought: that leaving may mean never returning. Even with its flaws, I believe the US is still the best place to live in the world. Thanks for reinforcing that belief.
Thank you for expressing your love for this great country. As a former marine, I have fought for this country because of what the United States stands for... freedom. It is a precious thing that far too many take for granted. I hope everyone within the 'sound' of our voices can hear and appreciate our love for this land. I hope everyone will read your article and take a moment to imagine what life without the freedom to write what they choose or worship the way they choose would be like, and then take the time to thank a soldier or family member for the sacrifices they made to keep us a free nation. God bless you and God bless the USA!Thank you for the comment. I also hope that people remember the freedoms that we have and can share here, and remember to be thankful to persons like yourself who have given so much to make this great nation what it is today.
We want your comments! If you can read this, you don't have javascript enabled, so you can't use this comment system. Please enable javascript.