With the Fourth of July approaching, I look forward to celebrating the birth of the greatest country in the history of our planet.
The Fourth of July—also known as Independence Day—has been a federal holiday in the United States since 1941, but the tradition of Independence Day celebrations goes back to the American Revolution.
On July 2, 1776, the Continental Congress voted in favor of independence, and two days later delegates from the 13 colonies adopted the Declaration of Independence, a historic document drafted by Thomas Jefferson.
During my youth, all Americans came together on the 4th to honor our country. Being raised by the Greatest Generation, we Baby Boomers had a great sense of pride in our country and were very grateful to our parents’ generation for their bravado and efforts to keep our country free.
In addition, I grew up in a small New England town, Fairhaven, MA, which was the site of the first naval battle of the Revolutionary War, so there was much American history also involved in my youth.
The Battle off Fairhaven was the first naval engagement of the American Revolutionary War. It took place on May 14, 1775, in Buzzards Bay off Fairhaven, Massachusetts (formerly known as Dartmouth, Massachusetts). The photo attached to this blog is of the cannons and flag at Fairhaven’s Fort Phoenix, the site of the battle and now part of a state beach in my hometown.
However, with all that said, I’m very concerned with America today – not so much for myself, but for my nephew, niece and their children. I’ve been fortunate to have lived a full life, being born in the greatest country ever. I have always been grateful to my grandparents, who arrived in this country from Portugal in the early 1900’s. My parents were first-generation Americans, both born in the 1920s. They were married post WWII, shortly after my father returned from the war.
Growing up in the 50s and 60s, there was much for which to be thankful – but, it was also a time for much anger. Between the assassinations of John and Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King, along with the fight for Civil Rights, Americans were going through some trying times. However, through it all, there was never a thought of us losing our country, as we know it.
Today, sadly, that thought crosses my mind, as I see and hear the hate and lies being spewed – not only by angry, brainwashed kids, but from our leaders, too. To hear people in the House of Representatives, Senate and the White House constantly speaking negatively about our country and its people leaves me bewildered and angry.
And to know there are leaders of our country who are self-proclaimed Marxists and Socialists is scary as hell.
So, as July 4, 2022 approaches, I hope and pray Americans wake up to what’s occurring in Washington D.C. and take a stand to save…THE GREATEST COUNTRY KNOWN TO MAN!
God bless America!
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