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When our founding fathers adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, they probably had no inkling we’d be celebrating the day some 232 years later.

While we celebrate the breaking of ties with Great Britain locally with parades, carnivals, barbecues and fireworks, remember there are many sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, fathers and mothers demonstrating the ultimate sacrifice for their nation.

In the past five years, we’ve had many of our local residents come home safely from their time in the Middle East. Unfortunately, I’ve also had to write about two local sons who gave their lives fighting in a war thousands of miles from home.

While we are all busy celebrating the Fourth of July this weekend, let us remember the service men and women and the sacrifices they make to keep our country safe.

Without them and many others before them placing their lives on the line, our country might not be the great nation it is today.

It doesn’t matter whether or not you agree with the war, what matters is that everyone realizes without these brave souls we wouldn’t be able to have the greatest democracy in the world.

Use this Friday to spend time with your family and friends, but take a few minutes to remember why we celebrate the day.

If not for the 56 brave men who put their lives on the line by signing the Declaration, who knows what our country would be like today.

Without the Declaration, many wouldn’t enjoy the sorts of liberties younger generations of Americans now take for granted.

The opening line of the Declaration of Independence reads:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.”

This is one of the most powerful statements in any of our historical documents.

Without it, Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address wouldn’t have held the potency it did.

Without it, people of all color might still be treated differently.

Celebrating the Declaration of Independence is more than fireworks and barbecues. It’s remembering where we came from as a nation to where we are now.


Ruth Richardson is the editor of the Courier-Times. She can be reached at 360-855-1641 or via e-mail at .