Go Fourth!

"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."

Ah, the Fourth of July. Call it Independence Day, but just tacking it to a specific day makes it tough to shuffle to nearest weekend, and puts employers in the bind of either choosing to give the employees a couple days off when it falls in mid-week, or just face up to the fact that half the staff is going to be out anyway.

Why the 4th? We'd been fighting the British for more than a year by that time. The first motion for independence was on June 8th. And the first vote (12-0, New York abstaining courteously) was on July 2nd. Adams thought the Second of July would be the big holiday as a result. And the document itself was publicly read on the 8th of July. What made the 4th important?

The 4th is when they agreed to the language and, more importantly, it was sent to the printers. And as every writer knows, that is the moment that dreams are made real, ideas are crystalized, and reality is fashioned out of wish and hope. When the presses roll.

Have a happy and safe Fourth of July.

More later,