Jul 04 2002
4th of July
“I believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be celebrated by pomp and parade, with shows, games, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations from one end of this continent to the other.”
— John Adams, writing to his wife, Abigail, about the 4th of July
Well, Adams called that one. This day has been celebrated for more than 200 years, all over the country. This Independence Day is arguably the most emotional since WWII, the last time our nation was attacked. In the aftermath of 9/11, what struck me most was how we came together as a nation in the face of tragedy, united by our common love of this great country, like no other on earth. I was deeply moved by the display of flags in our neighborhood immediately following the disaster, and we have held fast to that spirit since that fateful day.
I know this country’s flaws, like my own, are neither small nor few. Yet I could never happily live anywhere else. I think you can love a country in the same way you love a person: knowing both the good and the bad, the strengths and the weaknesses, sharing the good times and the bad, your common, shared history uniting you and enabling you to walk together into the future, whatever it may hold.
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