(Photo Credit: Jennifer Tomaloff)
“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 shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more.”
John Adams wrote those words to his wife, Abigail. He was referring to July 2nd, 1776, the date that the colonies legally separated from Great Britain. While he may have been wrong about the date–the celebrations took place on July 4th, the (debated) date that the founding fathers signed the Declaration of Independence–he was right about the pomp and the circumstance. July 4th is the day set aside to commemorate the start of the bold, brash experiment that was American Democracy. The celebrations began that very next year on July 4th, 1777 and the festivities did include fireworks.
More than 200 years have passed and it can be successfully argued that for many the fourth of July is not a date on which we spend much time reflecting on the courage and sacrifice of our revolutionary brethren. Don’t get me wrong, some do indeed honor the sacrifices of those who bought our freedoms as well as those who have died over the ensuing centuries to protect them. We all should remember that. Though our commitment to remembrance may sometimes waiver, we remain consistent in our innate desire to affirm the words of the man who would become the second President of these United States.
As John Adams predicted, on July 4th we like to blow sh*# up.