Hopes for Independence Day

Caption

Fourth of July

Credit: Adobe Stock

TRANSCRIPT:

CHUCK REECE: This is the week when Americans celebrate Independence Day, the anniversary of the ratification of the Declaration of Independence. On the Fourth of July in 1776, delegates from the 13 colonies came together at the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia and declared this country independent of Britain and its king, George III.

If all one knew was that fact, one might expect the Fourth of July to be a solemn holiday, a time to gather and recite the most famous sentence of that declaration: “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.”

I have certainly, on various Fourths of July, given those words some serious consideration, as I’m sure you have. But when I remember the Independence Days I have celebrated in my life, the focus has mostly been on the last three words of that sentence:

Pursuit of happiness.

The Fourth of July tells us to go outside and take a few deep breaths of fresh air. It tells us to watch a parade. To go to a ball game. To eat entirely too much food in the backyard with our people. The Fourth of July tells us to pursue happiness.

In that spirit, I’ve cobbled together a list of Fourth of July hopes for myself. But really, they are Fourth of July hopes for all y’all. Here goes:

I hope you eat a hamburger — or a veggie burger, if that’s your thing — hot off a charcoal grill. And I hope the person who cooked it for you is someone you love absolutely, whom you could not imagine life without.

If you don’t eat a burger, I hope you eat a slaw dog. Man, I love a slaw dog. I hope, if you’re a baseball fan, you hear the crack of a wooden bat.

I hope deliriously happy children run circles around you.

If you live in a small town, I hope there is still a parade, even if it’s just a few local farmers taking their tractors for a spin on Main Street.

I hope you stay up after dark and watch some fireworks explode in the sky. I hope you say “oooooh” and “aaaaah,” not because you’re expected to, but because it just comes out.

And I hope you do remember the words in the declaration that come before “pursuit of happiness." Especially that “all created equal” part, because those words encourage you to love your neighbor as you yourself — and to prove it by handing them a slaw dog over the backyard fence.

Happy Fourth of July to all y’all. I hope you’ll come see us at SalvationSouth.com.

 

Salvation South editor Chuck Reece comments on Southern culture and values in a weekly segment that airs Wednesdays during Morning Edition and All Things Considered on GPB Radio. Salvation South Deluxe is a series of longer Salvation South episodes which tell deeper stories of the Southern experience through the unique voices that live it. You can also find them here at GPB.org/Salvation-South and wherever you get your podcasts.