By Emma Kaden and Chris Talgo
Every year, millions of Americans celebrate Independence Day by watching fireworks light up the night sky. In fact, more than 16,000 firework displays will take place this Fourth of July, and Americans are estimated to spend more than $1 billion on fireworks this Independence Day.
So why do we set off fireworks on the Fourth of July?
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Well, fireworks have been an essential element of Independence Day celebrations ever since the first commemoration in 1777. Even John Adams predicted that the Fourth of July would be an annual celebration of patriotism. On the day before the Declaration of Independence was signed, he wrote in a letter to his wife:
“I am apt to believe that [Independence Day] will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival,” Adams wrote. “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 forever more.”
A year later, just as Adams envisioned, Americans celebrated the anniversary of their (pending) independence from Britain by setting off fireworks, among other revelry. According to accounts of the first July Fourth celebration, colonists set off one firework for each of the thirteen newly independent states, and even held a parade, just as we do today. In the early years of the United States, the Fourth of July was a sacred day to celebrate the first nation in history founded on individual freedom.
However, 243 years later, Independence Day has become less about freedom and more about having a good time. From parades to barbecues to festivals, Fourth of July celebrations have become more about spending quality time with family and friends than commemorating and honoring the Declaration of Independence and everything it represents.
According to a recent Gallup poll, only 45 percent of Americans identified as extremely proud to be American, down from 70 in 2003. Even worse, among Americans aged 18 to 29, only 24 percent responded they were extremely proud to be an American. On the other hand, 63 percent of Americans aged 65 and over expressed extreme pride in being American. Obviously, this does not bode well for the future of American patriotism, let alone the sincerity and essence of Fourth of July celebrations in the years to come.
Despite the fact that many young Americans aren’t extremely proud to be American, the United States is—and always has been—a pioneer of new technologies, a champion for human rights, and a force for freedom across the globe. From winning the Space Race to defeating Nazi Germany to providing aid and assistance to countries across the world, the United States surely deserves extreme pride and patriotism—especially among its own people.
No nation is perfect, and obviously the United States has its flaws. However, this Fourth of July, we all should take the time to reflect on the unique strengths and accomplishments of the United States.
After all, Independence Day is meant to commemorate the United States’ history as a nation founded on individual liberty and freedom in a time when despotism and tyranny reigned supreme.
Indeed, on July 4, 1776, the signers of the Declaration of Independence literally put their lives on the line to ensure future generations would have the opportunity to bask in glorious freedom (and watch a great fireworks show). Not only that, but thousands of patriots lost their lives and livelihoods in the War for Independence so that the ideals expressed in the Declaration of Independence could be fostered in the New World, to be secured and protected for centuries to come.
So as you enjoy the barbecues, parades, fireworks, and festivities this Fourth of July, remember that Independence Day is about more than spending time with your loved ones. It’s also about recognizing and commemorating the fundamental ideals the United States was founded upon.
As Thomas Jefferson so eloquently stated, “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. … 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.”
If this world-changing philosophy doesn’t merit pride and patriotism, what does?
Emma Kaden is an assistant editor at The Heartland Institute. Chris Talgo is an editor at The Heartland Institute.
Happy 243rd Birthday America. The world will never be the same without your shining beacon of light. Don’t ever let this light be extinguished or we will break faith with those who died for thee and all our freedoms we cherish. This requires the constant attention and devotion of all citizens to keep this shining beacon of light alive so that the whole world one day will also enjoy these individual freedoms to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
There is a story, often told, that upon exiting the Constitutional Convention Benjamin Franklin was approached by a group of citizens asking what sort of government the delegates had created. His answer was: “A republic, if you can keep it.”
I just hope American Greens are celebrating with fireworks that don’t emit CO2.
If not they are hypocrites.
Hmmm, they’re hypocritical about everything else, so I guess they enjoyed the fireworks, just as much as “deniers”.
Happy Independence Day!!!
Always like the fireworks, and a hot dog and/or hamburger is a treat.
The fireworks are the highlight of my 4th every year. Until I was much older, I did not realize that the tradition dated back to the Revolution itself. I always associated fireworks with annual celebrations after Ft McHenry
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_McHenry
And a phrase from our anthem written there has occupied a special few bytes of storage in my non-volatile memory.
In my profession, it was been oft stated that the job involved hours and hours of boredom, separated by a few seconds of stark terror. I saw many “fireworks” in my two tours, but the one display that is burned into ROM came the day after Christmas in 1972.
The U.S. had stood down for Christmas day, but the other guys had not. On the way into and over Hanoi that day we saw more flak and missile launches than the previous 4 days before Christmas.
About a minute before drop we got strong warning signals that a missile site was aiming at us. and then the “launch” buzzer went off. Up thru the undercast zoomed a SA-2 missile and seemingly blew up at the flight ahead of ours. Big, ugly fireball and then smoke. My heart sunk. We were zipping along about a mile and a half behind, so went thru the smoke about 8 or so seconds later. All of us feared that several of our friends up ahead were gone.
But as we came around/thru the smoke there they were!!!! 8 of our friends still in formation, about to drop. And first thot in my mind as I made my last second switch checks was
I pray that most will never have to face the “fireworks” that I and my friends have. And am damned glad there a few that keep on keeping on to minimize that from happening.
Gums sends…
Some are complaining about tanks being part of this years DC 4th of July.
Not me.
Freedom isn’t free.
Thanks for your service, Gums.
We Americans are so blessed to have our freedoms. Freedoms that so may have fought and died for. Howwever, we must remain ever vigilant and each one of us must be prepared to fight to keep our freedoms. As Thomas Jefferson said, “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure.”
“In the early years of the United States, the Fourth of July was a sacred day to celebrate the first nation in history founded on individual freedom.”
Individual freedom. That is what we citizens of the United States celebrate.
Individual freedom. That is what the left hates!
The trashing of the United States by the left has nothing to do with slavery or racism or our wars or our character or patriarchy or any of the things the left shouts about. They are all false flags. The proof of this is in how the left treats group members that break from their assigned group and step out as individual thinkers. Across the board, such individuals are viciously attacked by the left, regardless if they are female, black, hispanic, gay or any other minority. Once they leave the group and abandon groupthink, they are the enemy.
A socialist dystopia cannot exist in a society that celebrates individual freedom. A socialist dystopia can only exist in a population that has succumbed to groupthink. The issues of the left are just exercises in establishing groupthink philosophy into the mindset of America. That is the real battle going on here, and that is why they hate Independence Day.
In order for their dream world to come to the United States, the philosophy of individualism must be demonized and eradicated from the American psyche. So with every sparkling explosion I see tonight, I will celebrate my freedom…while I still can.
Apparently, the Brits still haven’t forgiven us:
Sheesh!
Don’t be annoyed, have some pity on us. It is just our jealousy that you have your have your independence , and ours, although democratically voted for, has been thwarted by an unspeakable cabal of greedy financiers, a crooked media and the most pathetic PM in the history of Westminster.
Have a nice (Independence) Day . Sigh.
If not for the election of Trump we would be in a similar boat.
That’s right. We would be heading down the same socialist road the EU is traveling had Hillary been elected. Open borders; no fossil fuels, huge taxpayer money giveaways, and a rigging of the election system to guarantee socialists continue to hold the presidency in perpetuity.
Yeah, we would have pretty much been screwed, in so many areas, had Hillary been elected. Trump has delayed that crisis for a while but it’s going to be up to all of us to prevent the socialists from stealing our nation in the future. They won’t quit trying. They failed this time but they will do a better job next time. Unless we put a few of them in jail as examples for the next time.
I have no problem with a country celebrating its worth on the planet. Let’s just hope Trump makes it about the US, not about himself.
Well, Trump gave a short, to the point speech, and I didn’t hear anything of a partisan nature in it.
No doubt Democrats will be able to twist something he said into a controversy. They are good at doing that. They’ve had lots of practice.
“Orange Man bad.”
There. Saved you from having to watch the news for the next 5 1/2 years, Tom.
(No winky. That’s pretty much all the Yellow Stream Media reports.)
Simon — so simple.
On June 21, 1788, the Constitution became the official framework of the government of the United States of America when New Hampshire became the ninth of 13 states to ratify it.
Until this date the United States of America did not exist.
That, then is the real birthday of the USA.
I think of July 4, 1776 as the beginning of the beginning;
and June 21, 1788 as the end of the beginning.
On the other hand, our flag is flying today.
John,
How do you square your claim that the United States of America did not exist until the Constitution of 1787, with the very words of the Declaration of Independence?
In Congress, July 4, 1776.
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America…
Or the Articles of Confederation (1777):
Whereas the Delegates of the United States of America, in Congress assembled…
Despite those words, there was a good chance those “united” [small ‘u’] thirteen would not meld into a single nation, with a capital ‘U’. Anti-Federalists were quite strong in opposition.
Read here:
https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/the-day-the-constitution-was-adopted/
Sorry, No Sale.
Arguing that the United States of America did not yet exist prior to 1787, although explicitly self-described in the Articles of Confederation of 1777, or that the non-capitalization of the word united in the Declaration of Independence of 1776 reflected a desire to avoid actual union, is sophistry akin to claims that an unborn child is not yet human.
The federal Union has evolved over time, to be sure. The current state of our Union would in fact not be entirely recognizable to the founders as their handiwork. It would be about as different from their conception (to the opposite extreme) as the weak Confederation that had defined the United States of America in the nation’s infancy. We are verging on the complete negation of their original intent, with unaccountable, unelected bureaucrats ruling minor details of our lives and a nearly all-inclusive interpretation of the interstate commerce clause allowing what was intended to be a strictly limited central government to run roughshod over the sovereignty of the states, negating the 10th amendment, that all powers not explicitly granted to the federal government are retained by the states and the people.
This has come to the point where I dare say most Americans think that the word “federal” means national or supreme rather than its accurate meaning as relating to an association of sovereign states interacting in defined and limited ways.
The Anti-Federalists were ironically defenders of federalism and it was their great contribution to force the Bill of Rights limiting the power of the national government. The Federalists were in favor of a stronger national government which implied a less federal nature. It was their great contribution to rescue the young nation from dysfunction, to create a more perfect union. I honor both factions for their contributions. Together they brought the United States of America, a nation formed in 1776, out of its infancy and into its early childhood.
Exactly right. The Federalists were so sure the truths of individual liberty would be expressed and self evident in the base document Constitution there was no need for a BOR. The Constitution was only ratified because the Federalists made gentleman’s agreement with the Anti-Federalists to include at BOR in the first Congress. My founder ancestor, George Clymer, was one of only 8 men that signed both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. That relatively small number of signatories of both documents gives a hint of just how long and arduous the period was from the time between the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the ratification of the Constitution (June 21, 1788). Twelve years was a long time in a era when even without factoring in infant mortality the average life expectancy was 36-40 years.
The hullabaloo over Trump’s “militaristic” 4th of July display is so ridiculously disingenuous… like everything else from the whiney left. Consider the annual event called “fleet week” held here in the SF Bay Area. A parade of “militaristic” aircraft carriers, destroyers, submarines … and the Piece de resistance … a window-rattling flyover by the Blue Angels. Trump’s display is no more “offensive” than our annual “fleet week” festivities. Leftist (D’s) are such JOKES. Their TDS has rendered them insane, and dim witted.
Trump isn’t doing anything that past presidents haven’t done. There have been plenty of military parades like this. Eisenhower had tanks rolling down the streets of DC and just about every president since him has had some kind of military display during celebrations.
It goes to show just how hypocritical and disengenuous the Radical Left really is.
Flags, fireworks, BBQ grills almost all Made in China
Out Teacher Education Programs across the country have become Socialist anti-American indoctrination centers. The teachers that are churned out of most of these programs are pretty enthusiastic about destroying this nation. They don’t see it that way, but the whole basket of unAmerican social theories that they are promoting is damaging to the fundamental strengths of our nation…and attacking the very idea of strong (ne rugged) individualism and individual freedom. Individualism and the rights of individuals is the bedrock of our legal and economic systems. This is seen as evil and is being cast aside in favor of groupism. Group identity politics has sown the seeds of disaster.
The problem has become bad enough that it’s time to rethink the whole idea of government sponsorship of education. Government schools are a failure for all but the brightest students…and these bright students could all have achieved k-12 in 8 years or less. Unmotivated students get next to nothing worthwhile out of school…a nearly total waste of time and money.
Far from just failing to get the job done (i.e. preparing kids to prosper in the real world), our schools have now become a wellspring of destructive toxic socialist indoctrination.
The future of education will probably revolve around a synthesis of online instruction and virtual reality. Bricks and mortar and ill educated “teacher propagandists “will not be needed.
Re. my two previous comments about the USA. I watched our ABC, the
taxpayer funded public broadcaster over their coverage of Trumps big day.
So who did they speak to, why the Democrats of course, who said that they
did not approve.
I think that Pres. Trump having seen how the French celebrate Bastille
Day, liked what he saw and decided to copy it. Good on him.
A final point, back in 1890 here in Australia there was a movement for
Australia to have self government, an then to b e fully independent , but
to be a part of the Commonwealth. Back then that was our sort of EU,
a economic union,.
Now the UK had been good for Australia helping us over the early bad
years, we nearly starved back then. But it was now time for us to stand on
our own two feet.
So many hundreds of meetings took place throughout Australia as to what
sort of government we wanted. We decided to take the best of the USA
system and the best of the UK system.
The final document was sent to the UK and it was later reported that the UK
foreign office was horrified at the proposal, not what they thought was best.
But wiser heads said if that is what they want then let them have it.
Now just like the USA we later found a few bits that were not quite perfect,
but overall its a very good form of government and we, just like the USA
should celebrate it. That was in 1901, so we are a young country.
So our thanks to the USA for the bits that we took from you, I think we got
the best of both countries.
MJE VK5ELL
The Left coast couldn’t handle it: right at the end of the “Salute to America” they broke, ie had a 6.4
mag earthquake in california.
The United States is so important to the entire (free) world, every other country whose constitutions and political systems are also founded on freedom and liberty should celebrate the 4th of July as well! Because without America, the rest of the free world would have been lost to fascism and oppression. We all owe the United States a debt of gratitude. I would be a proud patriot myself should I have been privileged to be born American. I’m a proud Kiwi who knows what side his bread is buttered on. But I truly admire the United States of America. I would 100 percent vote for Trump if I could! Sadly, so many (mostly young) Americans now have lost sight of what truly matters, like freedom and liberty, freedom of speech and freedom of movement and association; they have no sense or appreciation of their own history, or how and why they are so privileged to enjoy the pampered lives they live. They clamour for socialism and for the end of their own freedoms which they take for granted. They despise all that’s good and trample on the Constitution, the very thing that gives them the right and freedom to complain and protest against it. They have no idea how fragile it all is. Thank God for the United States!
Us Brits now call it Higgs Day 🙂
All is not well with the US economy.
Here is Trump’s Fox July 1 interview on the breakdown in CA :
“It’s very sad. It’s a phenomenon that
started two years ago. It’s disgraceful…. I’m looking at it
very seriously, because you can’t do that. You can’t have what’s
happening, where police officers are getting sick just by walking
the beat …, where people are getting sick, where the people are
living in hell…. They cannot do that. They cannot ruin our
cities. You have people that work in those cities. They work in
office buildings, and to get into the building, they have to walk
through a scene that nobody would have believed possible three
years ago.
“This is the liberal establishment. This is what I’m
fighting…. I had a situation when I first became President, we
had certain areas of Washington, D.C., where that was starting to
happen, and I ended it very quickly. I said, `You can’t do that.’
“So we’re looking at it very seriously. We may intercede. We
may do something to get that whole thing cleaned up…. But the
thing that nobody can figure out is, do these governors or
mayors, do they really think this is a positive? Do they really
think this is OK? Because it’s not. It’s destroying their city,
and destroying a whole way of life, and it’s not our country.
It’s not what our country is all about.”
A very timely admission.
Trump tells the truth again.
I hope he does clean up those problems even though it will require giving some money to Democrats. It’s unbelievable the Democrats let this situation get this bad in the first place.
All the bad things America has ever done don’t even come close to the massive overwhelming positive impact this country has had on the entire world. And it was the constitution above all other things which not only enabled those events but literally caused them to happen. The United States constitution was not only a framework of law but represented a true and mathematical understanding of human nature by our founders. This statement is borne out in the federalist papers among numerous other writings and speeches of the time. It remains a truly human document rooted firmly in individual liberties and freedom from government. The freedom to succeed resulted in an unleashing of the individuals power over science and nature the likes of which has never been seen.
Today, the government institutions fight against the amazingly successful circumstances our constitution was designed to create. The same things our founders warned of are actually happening hundreds of years later, yet fools somehow imagine that America is the problem while they themselves fail to grasp the complexities of our founders thought. Our government controlled schools have done a good job in indoctrination of our children to the liberal cause of central control over the human condition and the erosion of our founding principles. Most don’t even try to understand the history of folks like Jefferson, Washington or Adams preferring the shallowness of face book over actual thought. Like AOC, they are completely certain in their infallibility and remain logically unreachable.
Very, very disappointing.
If only there was some way to properly and legally require our elected representatives and the members of the DC sewer to uphold their oath of office
Oath of Office for Congress:
“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God. “
Watched the video last evening, here in Vancouver, B.C.
Statesmanship and patriotism with flybys timed to punctuate going from the Coast Guard to the other services.
Outstanding!
And good showmanship as well.
“Semper Fi”, indeed.
I admire my British cousins. Your relatively tiny beautiful islands have so much and such a long history but it seems to me the events that have led you to the conditions that set the course of moving towards full blown socialism can pretty much be traced back to the relatively short period of the events of the last century starting with the losses of WW I and proceeding through the Great Depression, and WW II. When you voted Churchill out the course was set, with perhaps a bit of a pause under the “Iron Maiden” (Margret Thatcher). How you will change the course of your ship, I don’t know, but I believe it will change to a better course and the rejection of the EU and governance by a permanent external elite supported by domestic Quislings is a fight you shall win that will start that change of course. May there always be a free and independent Britannia!