The time of year is finally here. The Fourth of July, where we celebrate our nation's independence with cookouts and fireworks. It's one of the most fun holidays of the year. It's the middle of summer, and everyone is enjoying the warm weather either at the beach or in the company of friends and family at home. With all of the excitement and festivities that surround this holiday, it can be hard to overlook the reason why we even celebrate it. As someone who was a history major in college, Independence Day holds a special meaning to me. It represents the sacrifices made by our forefathers in order to give us the country that we love so much today.
It can be easy to overlook the true meaning behind holidays sometimes. Holidays represent good times spent with family and friends, and it can be easy to get caught up in the fun of it all. But the Fourth of July holds so much more meaning. It goes all the way back to the Thirteen Colonies, as we all know, and it begins with the idea of freedom. Freedom is something that not everyone has access to, and we are fortunate to live in a country where people fought, and still fight, for that cherished right we have today.
To me, Independence Day represents the hard fought battles both before, during, and after the Revolutionary War. The early years of this nation are what built the foundations of the government we have today. Even years after the Revolutionary War, the United States was still battling to strive as an independent country and trying to best preserve the freedom it had won. It wasn't easily earned, and it wasn't easily maintained at first.
The memorialization of our struggle for independence therefore symbolizes much more than just getting together with family and celebrating our nation. It symbolizes the blood, sweat, and tears that went into this freedom. The brave men who led battles against the largest and fiercest military of its time. The people who defined what it means to be an American, and built our government from the ground up with everyone counting them out.
While the Fourth of July is a fun holiday, we cannot forget why we celebrate it. Without men like George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and Benjamin Franklin, the America we cherish and love so dearly today would not be. Therefore it is important to make sure on this Independence Day, while you are enjoying fireworks and the company of friends and family at cookouts, that you take some time to think about what was done to get this country its independence and what is being done to keep it.
