But the day we celebrate that decision is actually off by two days. John Adams, one of the greatest of our founding fathers and a future president, always thought that July 2nd would be the day Americans would celebrate their Independence.

The reason for that is because the Continental Congress voted on July 2, 1776 to declare Independence from Great Britain. As far as the delegates were concerned, July 2nd was the day. However, they didn’t make their decision public until two days later when the Declaration of Independence was read to a crowd in Philadelphia. To the public, July 4th was the day of Independence and so it has been.

The day is important, but not nearly as important as the document.

It remains one of the wonders of the world, a document laying out man’s highest hopes and aspirations and something, that sadly, we sometimes take for granted.

Among the 56 men who signed the Declaration are some of the most famous in our history: Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Ben Franklin and John Hancock, whose bold signature on the Declaration would come to symbolize those who would stand up and be counted when the going got tough. Others are not as well known, but all were men of accomplishment. There were future Supreme Court justices, two Lees from Virginia, future governors, future senators, a future vice president and the father of a future president, all men of great stature in their time. They had much to lose.

As he signed, Benjamin Franklin made the famous comment: “we must all hang together or surely we shall all hang separately.” That is whimsical today, but it was deadly serious at the time. Had the revolution not succeeded, those men and many others would have been imprisoned, probably executed. None of them were really suffering all that much under British rule. They were prominent men of property and accomplishment. But even when the revolution succeeded, some paid a heavy price. Two men lost sons in the fighting. Several others lost almost everything they had. But the cause was so much greater than any one man. The recognition of that is what made them the great men they were.

In the future there would be other great men: Lincoln, Roosevelt, Wilson, Truman and the others who echo through our history. And there would be names of so many places, names that mean much more than simply a spot on a map: Valley Forge, Antietam, Gettysburg, San Juan Hill, Belleau Wood, Pearl Harbor, Omaha Beach, Bastogne, Iwo Jima and other places where men died fighting for something greater than themselves.

There will be other names in the future, both of men and places, because while this country long ago retired the trophy for showing the world the way to freedom, the struggle to maintain it never ends.

As I write this, I’m listening to and watching the fireworks show from the Southpark Mall, fireworks now as much a part of July 4th as barbecue, baseball and leisure. We can only hope that someday all men will be free, all wars will end and the fireworks will go forever.

MOVIE OF THE WEEK

“Yankee Doodle Dandy” 1942

It’s the story of George M. Cohan, one of the great entertainers in U.S. history. There was a time, from about 1900-1920, that Cohan dominated Broadway with many different shows running at the same time. He was an actor, producer, songwriter and dancer. Among his songs were “Yankee Doodle Dandy”, “Give My Regards to Broadway” and “Over There”, all certified American classics.

James Cagney won the academy award in one of the great performances of his great career. It’s got singing, dancing, drama and romance and became one of the biggest hits of the 40’s. It’s listed as one of the top 100 films ever made and a perfect film for this 4th of July week.