Happy Fourth of July!

We drove out to Lancaster to watch fireworks with Mike and Lauri, the kids and some of their friends from Lauri's "mommy club." It seemed so strange to be able to just pull off any of the streets and park in basically an expanse of desert. No curbs, no buildings, just dirt and Joshua trees. But the sunset was beautiful and the temperature was perfect. It was very relaxing.




Already learning my gangsta signs








Aside from the fireworks, barbecue and a day off of work, we should remember why we celebrate the fourth.

Americans sometimes forget the history surrounding the date. The Fourth of July commemorates the ratification of the Declaration of Independence which serves as this Nation's official certificate of birth. Interestingly, the Declaration was actually ratified on the the second of July, not the fourth, 1776).

According to researcher Kenneth Davis, as early as 1676, a man named Nathaniel Bacon wrote the "Declaration of the People." This document criticized the British for levying unfair taxes, placing favorites in high positions and not protecting the western farmers from Indians. Americans boycotted the taxes; the British sent in troops. What ensued was the Boston massacre, which turned out to be the beginning of the end of British rule.

In 1773, the colonists decided the British would not monopolize and tax the sale of any one item, such as tea. On the night of December 16th, men from all ranks of society clandestinely boarded three, tea-filled Royal Navy ships and dumped cases and cases of tea into the harbor (the Boston Tea Party). Shortly thereafter, the Revolutionary War began and when America won the War, (and after the ratification of the Declaration of Independence) it was deemed a glorious occasion worthy of an annual celebration. John Adams - one of the authors of the Declaration of Independence - said: "I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance; it ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more."