Happy July Fourth!

Last year’s fireworks.

I love the Fourth of July, and I’m about to go out to the park and enjoy the day along with so many other people. Maybe I’ll see some fireworks tonight. But besides having fun on a beautiful summer day, I also feel that the idea of freedom and independence is of great importance, and I’m thinking about how much it means and how we still need to fight for the original ideals of our nation and what the Declaration of Independence should mean to us.

From Jamelle Bouie’s column in the New.York Times this morning, commemorating Independence Day:

“Read today, the Declaration of Independence is a freedom document. It stands for absolute human equality and represents the highest ideals of the American republic. On July 4, we celebrate it as much as we celebrate independence itself. …

“The Declaration as we understand it was forged by struggle. Not the struggle with Britain but the struggle within the independent United States for freedom and equality against the weight of the Constitution and the American political system. As you might imagine, the key that shaped our understanding of the Declaration was the fight to end slavery.”

The history of how the Declaration was used in the early days of our country to support the idea that slavery should be abolished in the American Republic is very fascinating — I recommend reading this whole beautifully written column for today’s holiday!

UPDATE: Fireworks!