What Independence Day means to me.

In our youth we spend the Fourth of July setting off fireworks and watching professionals display their pyrotechnics. We stand in awe as the rockets propel themselves upward, then burst into heart stopping displays of colorful stars and booming explosions and multi colored lights streaking through the night sky. When I was young dad would pack us up and we would trundle off to our little town and gather at the town square where it seems the whole town had come out to see an awesome display of good old patriotic fireworks. We would find a place on an untaken small patch of grass in the town park and impatiently wait till it was dark enough for the technicians to begin their magic. And magic it was. We would watch, awestruck, until too soon it was over. The same scenario played out in the small town in California, where we later moved. The same scene played out in many small towns across America. 

When I was young I didn't think much about the purpose of it all, except it meant getting together with friends and family, eating watermelon, grilling burgers, popping firecrackers and shooting off all types of fireworks. Oh and the homemade ice cream. I can taste that hand cranked delight to this day. 

Those were fun times. It was hot but when you are young you don't seem to notice. 

Later in my advanced teen years we still had fun with fireworks and grilling, but my mind was maturing and I started thinking about the real meaning of Independence Day. 

Before my oldest brother passed away, I had the privilege to accompany him on a trip to Philadelphia. We toured the museum, saw the liberty bell, but the place that was most impressive to me was the room where George Washington, Ben Franklin, James Madison, Thomas Jefferson and the others, hammered out the Declaration of Independence. 

In the heat of the summer they worked tirelessly until they came to a consensus and the constitution was born. They risked everything they had, including their lives, for that precious document.

As another Fourth of July comes around, in the midst of all the unthankfulness, turmoil and todays prevalent attitude of "me first", can we still, in our hearts, feel moved and exemplify a gracious spirit for what our Founding Fathers did for us. 

Can we set aside a part of the day and excuse ourselves from the celebratory activities and in quiet solitude take a moment and silently thank those who went on before, risking everything for the freedoms we have today?

That is what Independence Day means to me. Freedom.