Jul 04 2007
Do we really understand Independence day?
I sometimes wonder.
Sure, we understand that we are celebrating our Country's declaration of Independence, which we observe on July 4th 1776, the date on the Declaration of Independence. We even quote the Declaration periodically.
In CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America.When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands, which have connected them with another, and to assume, among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain Inalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.
And I certainly don't want to demean it, for it is a crucial document in our Country's history and development.
But while that is what Independence Day is, that is not all that it means.
Do we recall that we went to war against Great Britain for 7 years following our proclamation? Do we recall the 50,000 or more that died in that war? Do we recall the years afterward as the nation was slowly forming and recovering? The declaration meant nothing without the lives spent in securing it.
Do we recall the wars that followed which threatened our nations existence? The Civil War, The Naval War with France, The First Barbary War, The Spanish American War, The War of 1812, The second Barbary War and so on and so forth all the way through WW1, WW2, Korea and Vietnam.
You see, to me, Independence Day is as much about keeping free as it is about becoming free.
Maybe my military service caused me to see this differently. In fact, military service changes a lot of perceptions about patriotic acts that many take for granted. While students giggle and fidget during the pledge of Allegiance, at bases all over the world the military opens with Reveille and the posting of the colors:
In modern times the U.S. military plays (or sounds) "Reveille" in the morning, generally near sunrise, though its exact time varies from base to base. While "Reveille" is played, the national flag is raised. On some U.S. military bases, it is accompanied with a cannon shot. As it is played all uniformed personnel are required to come to attention and present a salute either to the flag or in the direction of the music if the flag is not visible.
Oh how many times at basic, or at tech school or even at my duty station did we stop at the first notes, face the flag or the music and salute. But it didn't stop with that. We also did retreat, the ceremony to retire the colors and end the work day. Sometimes it was like reveille, you faced the music and saluted.
Other times we drove or even marched to the base flag pole, and stood attention while a formal ceremony was performed, sometimes with live band playing the nation anthem.
It still gives me chills, can you believe it? Maybe being a part of it, watching the flag come down, seeing it be folded, hearing the orders called...it may seem dorky and dull, but it was moving. There was a sense of purity in the rituals and ceremony.
We did parades. I marched in an Armed Forces Day parade down the streets of San Francisco. It wasn't just the sound of heel beats around me as our group, 8 ranks wide, marched in step down those streets that makes me nostalgic. It was seeing the people on the side of the road as we went by. The old man in his wheel chair clutching a small flag in one hand and saluting with the other.
I guarantee, he gets what it's all about. Do you wonder why I hate the liberalization of San Francisco so much? I marched there in a kinder era.
Yes, in what is now the notoriously liberal and anti military San Francisco there were then cheering crowds, children laughing and waving and looking in awe at the soldiers walking by. Yes, we were Airmen in the Air Force, but to the little kids we were all soldiers.
And it was the funerals. I was on the base Honor Guard for a short time, and I buried many veterans, performing the flag folding ceremony for their funeral. I was even graced with the honor to carry the urn of the deceased serviceman to the hearse, and in the hearse to the grave site. I have never felt more honored. The whole funeral was a ceremony. We slow marched in one by one to slow salute the casket. We carried the casket to the hearse. We carried it from the hearse to the grave site. We stood, 3 per side as taps was played on the trumpet and our rifle squad did a 21 gun salute. We picked up the flag. Walked away from the casket and folded it to the familiar triangle shape. We even refolded flags on the spot when they were not folded to our satisfaction.
We would not dishonor the deceased veteran by showing red on his flag. Again I may have grumbled at the hours in prepping our uniforms and the hard work in the ceremonies (caskets are bloody heavy) there still that small sense of purity.
The reality and importance of what we were doing was evident in the tears of the family as our detail commander handed them the flag and shells, and in their thanks afterward. They will keep that flag in a place on honor and while they won't remember who folded it and why, they know someone did.
My base hosted the remains of the unknown soldier in our chapel when they flew them home for the formal internment ceremony in Washington DC. The National Honor Guard provided a 24 hour vigil. But we also hosted the remains of many MIA casualties recovered in Vietnam, and our team provided the vigil for those remains.
And compared to the Sentinels at Arlington National Cemetery, we were nothing.
And I remember the troops returning home from Iraq in Desert Storm. They flew into Travis, and then took buses home. We lined the road leaving the base and made sure they knew they were appreciated and missed with signs and flags and cheers.
What I guess I am saying is while I absolutely do not sneer at civilians, I think because of the ceremonies they have to perform daily, the military understand it a little more personally.
So what you say? What does this have to do with the 4th of July and the neighborhood BBQ?
Everything and nothing I guess. People should celebrate with joy and thanksgiving the freedom our independence gives us. We should hug and laugh and be free, while music plays and fireworks explode.
But at the risk of dampening the spirits of anyone, I will also be hearing the IEDs exploding on a road in Iraq. When the flares burst overhead I will also be seeing the flames of the SUV at the Glasgow Airport and the fireballs of the car bombs in Iraq.
Yea, I get depressing like that.
But I refuse to spend so much time celebrating our freedom that I forget to pay tribute to the people serving in the military to keep us free.
That's just me, and I don't want anyone to feel obligated to do anything, nor do I want anyone feeling that I am being disdainful. Well, I am disdainful of the anti military groups, but thats an exception.
I am just personally devoted to remembering that freedom has a price in human lives. "Freedom is not free" may sound like a smarmy platitude, but it has a huge basis in reality.
So to one and all I simple thank God we live in a land where I am free to write my thoughts, you are free to read them and we are both free to agree or disagree as we feel. The fact we are having this conversation is the real testimony to the gift our founding fathers gave us.
That's what Independence and freedom means to me, Straight Up.
Have a safe and joyous Independence Day.
Trackposted to Azamatteroffact, ST, Outside the Beltway, Perri Nelson's Website, The Virtuous Republic, Right Truth, Big Dog's Weblog, The Pet Haven Blog, DragonLady's World, Stuck On Stupid, The Amboy Times, Adeline and Hazel, Pursuing Holiness, Right Celebrity, third world county, Stageleft, Pirate's Cove, The Pink Flamingo, Dumb Ox Daily News, Right Voices, Right Pundits, Blog @ MoreWhat.com, Exposing the Neo-Right, Committees of Correspondence, The Random Yak, DeMediacratic Nation, 123beta, Maggie's Notebook, Webloggin, The Pet Haven, Conservative Cat, Diary of the Mad Pigeon, Alabama Improper, The Crazy Rants of Samantha Burns, The World According to Carl, Blue Star Chronicles, Planck's Constant, High Desert Wanderer, The Yankee Sailor, and Gone Hollywood, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.
29 Responses to “Do we really understand Independence day?”
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Have a good independence day Karl.
I was raised with some of the ritual and ceremony you describe in the military life. My father was in the Air Force for 20 years. My brother has been in the Army since he graduated, a West Point Graduate, and now permanent faculty there.
I thank God for men and women who serve and have served in the military, defending the freedoms that God gave us and that our founding fathers recognized, fought and died for.
Thanks for YOUR service. It’s because of men like you that we can continue to enjoy our freedoms today.
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Karl, for anyone with a military background, Independence Day must be more meaningful and more sobering, because that person has been ready to defend, fight and die for our “Declaration.”
After the signing, the battle began and many died for it. With overwhelming defeat staring Washington’s army down, the newly formed American “will” eventually dominated.
I pray that continues and that we celebrate it joyfully every year, for without knowing joy, we lose the will to fight.
Blessings to you and yours on Independence Day,
Maggie
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Karl,
The nice thing about being in the hospital is that I have all the time in the world to read other people’s blogs and I enjoyed your post about really understanding Independence Day. I never had the honor to serve in the military but I certainly honor and thank you for yours.
Now the thing that sucks about being in the hospital is that the computer/TV/Radio can’t handle doing trackbacks so I am imposing upon your good nature to put this in the comments. If you get a chance to read it, I hope you find my post “A Not So Happy 4th” to be interesting at http://www.azamatterofact.com
Thank you.
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