Thoughts on the Revolution

This photo is attributed to David at info.ncagr.com

July 4th, 1776, for the United States, not yet known as that, was the culmination of dreams by men of high ideals. July 4th, 2012, seems a paltry comparison - although here in Orlando, Florida, the fireworks will try to convince us otherwise as up and down the Space Coast the brilliance will fly heaven-ward. If John Adams is still hanging around in that lofty realm, I wonder what he must think of his efforts to preserve Liberty.

News of starvation by hundreds of people without electricity farther north due to Hurricane Debbie, thousands in the middle part of the country have been displaced by fires, and the residual effects of various weather events since January have taken a toll on the heart of this country, making this Fourth of July 'holiday' far less enjoyable than it has been previously. And to add insult to all the injuries, this past week has brought in record-breaking triple-digits with a stalled heat wave across the middle states making the lack of power all the more miserable and, for some, life-threatening.

This could be depressing except that people are stepping up to help with donations of food and materials, and we are showing what we are made of. And the mid-sumer monsoons offer hope to drought and fire-destroyed regions. Let's intend that the rains are enough to bring good help to the firefighters, that people who have enough for themselves are making sure their neighbors aren't going without, and that we remember that preserving Liberty is more than setting off expensive pyrotechnical displays one day of the summer.

Fireworks from around the world can be seen at this link.