Where does one begin to list, what dazzles the eye? I’ve decided to share, what’s personal to me, on this up and coming Independence Day…2016
The Statue of Liberty…our most famous national monument given to us by France in 1886, remains an enduring symbol of freedom, not just to me, but to the whole world. Like my mother told me as a kid, “she’s always home in the harbor to greet you if you need a friend, or to be reminded how lucky you are to live, in The United of America.”
The United States Capitol…where the steadfast 114th Congress dutifully meets. Built in 1793, its cornerstone laid by George Washington himself, half completed when the War of 1812 left it in ruins, to be rebuilt and restored to how it majestically stands today.
Abraham Lincoln, its dome incomplete at the onset of the Civil War, ordered the work to continue as a symbol, the Union would prevail.
Social Security…sired and signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on August 14th, 1935, to implement social insurance during the great depression of the 1930s, when poverty rates of senior citizens was more than 50 percent, still an American grace, 81 years later.
The Brooklyn Bridge…often called the 8th Wonder of the World, Liberty’s neighbor right across the harbor, built in 1883 still a showstopper whenever she comes in to view. Yes, I believe it’s a she, the way her cables, maternally, reach out, warmly welcoming with outstretched arms.
Mount Rushmore…George, Tom, Teddy and Abe carved in granite, like beacons, in South Dakota, by Gutzon and Lincoln Borglum 1925, remind us what great leadership we’ve had in the past, hoping to inspire those in the present.
Hillary, Donnie, did you hear that?
Ken Burns…(1953-) by far, our greatest historical filmmaker…an enlightened educator honoring our noble history whose greatest hits rival the Beatles.
“You can’t know where you’re going if you don’t know where you’ve been.” Ken Burns.
Arlington National Cemetery…cemeteries, like libraries, can be used to teach us about our heritage. Arlington, not always a cemetery, but the home of Confederate General Robert E. Lee and his family, was dedicated as such, on November 19, 1863, during the American Civil War by Abraham Lincoln.
To walk its paths, home to so many of our heroes swells one’s heart, blatantly proud, to be simply called an American.
Thomas Jefferson and John Adams…our second and third Presidents both died, the Fourth of July, 1826 on the 50th Anniversary of the signing of The Declaration of Independence.
Adam’s last words were…“Jefferson Lives”…but Tom, unbeknownst to his best pal John, had already taken flight moments before.
Happy 4th everyone.
GOD BLESS AMERICA ![flag]()
SB
