Happy Fourth

First an apology for my three or four daily readers: I am in a bit of pain this morning and in a more than usual grumpy mood. I saw the fireworks in Chesterfield last night and they were a great show. Omitted the midnight parade as the wife did not want to stay up that late. Still, I woke up this morning thinking how many of us think of July 4th as being about fireworks just as some think of Christmas in terms of Santa Claus.

So some things for the Fourth. Such as the Declaration itself. Then have some background on the Declaration here and here. Some more background here. The Wikipedia, of course, has an article on the Declaration.

So what if the Declaration was never actually signed on the Fourth? Kind of misses the point of the Declaration, doesn't it?

That point still possesses some sharpness for editorial writers today. The Muncie Star-Press ends its editorial thus:

Americans are diverse with diverse interests, but we all must remember to stand together to defend our freedom as the signers of the Declaration intended:

"We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by the Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; ... and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor."

John Nichols of The Nation posted an article today entitled Tom Paine's 4th of July Advice for Congress. He starts his post with these paragraphs:

The Fourth of July ought surely, and above all else, to be a celebration of Tom Paine's resolve.

As the American colonies moved tentatively toward the fateful declaration of independence in those middle years of the 177Os, it was Paine who urged them to embrace the revolutionary spirit of that enlightened age and to get on with the cutting of the colonial bond.

"The cause of America," Paine wrote," is in great measure the cause of all mankind."

The very future of freedom depended on it.

Yes, of course, the pursuit of liberty was frightening -- especially when its pursuit was sure to inspire the mad wrath of King George III. "[But]" like all other steps which we have already passed over," Paine suggested to the colonials, "[Affronting the king and his empire] will in a little time become familiar and agreeable: and until an independence is declared, the continent will feel itself like a man who continues putting off some unpleasant business from day to day, yet knows it must be done, hates to set about it, wishes it over, and is continually haunted with thoughts of its necessity."

Confronting a tyrannical ruler named George is always difficult.

But necessity of it remains constant across our history.

The Washington Post has an editorial on the Declaration's continuing importance to Washingtonians and the rest of us, but also publishes John Fabian Witt's A Declaration The President Ignores and Michael Gerson's Why We Keep This Creed. This is from Professor Witt's piece.

The tragedy of the post-Sept. 11 American assault on the laws of war is that it seems to have been not only shameful but self-defeating. Disrespect for what the declaration called "the Opinions of Mankind" has fueled anti-American sentiment and spurred terrorist recruitment in North Africa, Europe and the Middle East. Illegal interrogation tactics seem to have produced disappointingly little intelligence. And extraordinary renditions to secret prisons have disrupted the cooperation of many of our most important allies in the war on terrorism, producing arrest warrants against U.S. intelligence agents in Germany and Italy. Patriotism at the expense of the laws of war seems to have gone badly awry.

For the delegates to the Continental Congress in 1776 -- as for Lincoln and Roosevelt in subsequent centuries -- patriotism and the laws of war went hand in hand. Since the revolution, Americans have helped shape a law of war that advanced the nation's interests. In moments of great crisis, our finest leaders have forged a powerful union between the security of the nation and the laws of war. It's a lesson from the first July 4 that we could sorely use again this year.

The following paragraph ends Mr. Gerson's article:

In America we respect, defend and obey the Constitution -- but we change it when it is inconsistent with our ideals. Those ideals are defined by the Declaration of Independence. We have not always lived up to them. But we would not change them for anything on Earth.

I cannot think of a better ending and so have a good Fourth.