Let’s remember spirit of Independence Day

This month we celebrate the birth of our great nation. It was July 4, 1776, that the Declaration of Independence, calling for the 13 American colonies to secede from Great Britain, was adopted by the Second Continental Congress.

Those colonists of the 1770s grew tired of taxation without representation. They did not have self-government. They were not free to make their own laws. They paid high taxes to a king on another continent.

They wanted independence, so they worked together and made significant sacrifices to gain freedom for themselves and generations to come.

If not for those revolutionary leaders we refer to as the Founding Fathers, our country — our world — would look much different today.

Although not a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, I can trace my lineage back to several of my own ancestors who fought for freedom those centuries ago.

Their blood courses through my veins, as the blood of your revolutionary ancestors courses through yours.

Let us not get so busy with barbecues and boat rides that we forget what it took for our ancestors to gain independence from British rule.

Imagine the determination and resilience it took for farmers, cabinetmakers, cobblers and other ordinary citizens to step up and endure the harsh conditions of war.

Soldiers — patriots — faced shortages of food and other supplies, weather extremes and disease.

Many, but not all the soldiers came from local militias. They may have had some training, or at least experience, and a powerful sense of defending their communities.

They were courageous in their desire to establish a democratic nation free from British rule.

They were driven by patriotism and willing to sacrifice whatever might be necessary for the cause of independence. They were resourceful and adapted to overcome the challenges presented.

The patriots who fought for our liberty might not have agreed on all the “small stuff,” but they were committed to independence so remained unified and determined in securing victory over British rule.

What a great gift we have been given. Those early documents referred to as the Charters of Freedom — the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights — secured our rights as American citizens.

Ours is the longest surviving written charter of government in the world!

We all studied American history in high school. We memorized the Preamble to both the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution.

It is important that we, as the beneficiaries of those heroes who secured our freedom, revisit those words and their significance today.

The Preamble to our Constitution affirms the government of our country exists to serve the citizenry: “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

May God bless America!