![\"Founding\"](\"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/Founding.jpeg\")
<\/a>Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Franklin<\/p><\/div>\n
Ahhh, the 4th<\/sup> of July \u2013 warm weather, baseball games, parades, old glory flying, fireworks, barbecues <\/strong>and beer<\/strong>. Who doesn\u2019t love that? The neighborhood I live in has made this day a very special one from the time our kids were very small. We\u2019ve had parades where the kids decorated their bikes in red, white and blue streamers. We\u2019d go to the local school grounds and taught the kids to play softball until the year that they taught us. We\u2019d play horseshoes and go swimming. We\u2019d barbecue burgers and hot dogs, have a few cold beers (not the kids!) and when it got dark we launched some fireworks.<\/p>\n We thought it was the perfect 4th<\/sup> of July<\/strong>, and it probably was, but it wasn\u2019t the perfect \u2018Independence Day\u2019<\/strong>. Nary a word was spoken about the courage of George Washington<\/strong>, the eloquent writing of Thomas Jefferson<\/strong>, the legal leadership of John Adams<\/strong>, or the many talents of Benjamin Franklin<\/strong>. And with all the media we’re surrounded with today, I\u2019m betting that you don\u2019t hear much about these heroes this week as we prepare for what is suppose to be a celebration of what these, and many other courageous men and women, did to create this incredible country.<\/p>\n It\u2019s curious how we\u2019ve personified virtually every other holiday we celebrate with characters, from Father Time to Santa Claus, but we\u2019ve actually taken the I suspect part of the reason for our lack enthusiasm over celebrating as the victors of the Revolutionary War<\/strong>, is that we don\u2019t see England<\/strong> as our enemy anymore. In fact, they are, arguably, our strongest ally, but back in the day, they were not so very nice to us and they were particularly pissed when we told them to take their taxes and tea bags and put them where the sun don\u2019t shine.<\/p>\n King George III<\/p><\/div>\n King George III<\/strong>, king of England at the time of our revolution, was a particularly annoying bastard \u2013 you can read some of our grievances with him in the actual Declaration of Independence<\/strong>, which, by the way can be printed on two typewritten pages \u2013 sans signatures. Maybe this year, you could print it out and read it during the barbecue, preferably before ‘beer thirty’. You might also mention that our Founding Father\u2019s were not only courageous, but were very intelligent and interesting people. To wit:<\/p>\n –\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 George Washington<\/strong>, who is the only US president never to run for president, was elected twice by a unanimous decision of the Electoral College (He got every vote!) \u2013 popular vote was not used in those days. As president, he refused to be paid. But, he was also the richest president in history, with total assets in excess of $500 million in today\u2019s dollars.<\/p>\n –\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Thomas Jefferson<\/strong> publicly opposed slavery, even though he owned slaves his entire adult life and had 5 children with his slave, Sally Hemings.<\/p>\n –\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 John Adams<\/strong> died on the same day as his rival Thomas Jefferson on July 4th<\/sup><\/strong>, 1826, the 50th<\/sup>anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.<\/p>\n – \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 The multi-talented Benjamin Franklin<\/strong> could speak 6 languages: French, German, Italian, Spanish, Latin . . . and English<\/p>\n – \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Our first secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton<\/strong> was shot and mortally wounded by Vice President Aaron Burr<\/strong> in one of the most famous duels in American history.<\/p>\n –\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Patrick Henry,<\/strong>\u00a0an attorney, had many people who had nothing to do with a case visit his court hearings just to hear him speak; he was that good of a public speaker.<\/p>\n –\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Benedict Arnold<\/strong>, the famous traitor, was a General in both the American and British armies – some say at the same time.<\/p>\n I hope you all have a great 4th of July, but I also hope that you also make it a great ‘Independence Day’ and remember those who, nearly 240 years ago, gave us the freedoms that we so enjoy to this day.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Bob Sparrow Ahhh, the 4th of July \u2013 warm weather, baseball games, parades, old glory flying, fireworks, barbecues and beer. Who doesn\u2019t love that? The neighborhood I live in has made this day a very special one from the … read more<\/a>\u2018characters\u2019, our Founding Fathers<\/strong>, out of our Independence Day<\/strong> celebration and relegated it to just a date. \u00a0It would be like instead of calling it Christmas, we’d just call it ’25th of December’, or instead of Easter we’d call it the ‘first\u00a0Sunday after the first full moon occurring on or after the vernal equinox’;\u00a0<\/span>OK,\u00a0<\/span>maybe we’d keep that one as Easter. \u00a0Independence Day is many American\u2019s favorite holiday, but it’s because of the aforementioned activities not because we spend much time recalling and recognizing the deeds of the truly amazing people who founded this nation.<\/p>\n<\/a>