#186 / The Fourth #2

It seems that I have always loved the Fourth of July!

I loved the Fourth even before I witnessed my wife-to-be shooting off fireworks at a Buddhist Temple in Japan. She did do that, in 1968, and that may have solidified my attraction to her. Celebrating the Fourth has always seemed, to me, to be a good thing to do. When I was an elected official, and the City of Santa Cruz still had a City-sponsored Fourth of July celebration, I loved to speak to the crowds about the American Revolution (though the crowds mostly ignored me, and what I said, to tell the truth).

In my undergraduate years, I studied American history. I discovered Hannah Arendt's book On Revolution, and it kind of blew me away. Some years later, I read Raintree County, recommended to me by Page Smith. It is a novel that tells a Fourth of July story. It kind of blew me away, too.

I recommend those books.

I also recommend celebrating the Fourth of July with this thought in mind: the Fourth of July is our national holiday because it celebrates our revolution, and that revolution has made this country what it is. When the need for a revolution comes around again (I think it's coming), we shouldn't be afraid to rise to the occasion.

Just like those patriots did on our first Fourth!

Image Credit: 

Personal Photo