I clearly remember all of my aunts and uncles would gather, grilling pork chops until dusk and then we would line the chairs up to watch the big fireworks display, despite the fact that it was 10 miles away. As a kid it was just a great family gathering to celebrate the Fourth of July.
As a 56-year-old adult in a time where our freedoms are eroding daily, I have a completely different view of the Independence Day celebration. Yes, I view the name of the celebration as a big deal because it is a holiday with more meaning for our kids today.
It is said, and I do not disagree, what we as American citizens have is the greatest chance at liberty of any person in the world. But let’s be honest; we lose a little bit of that liberty nearly every single day. This holiday enticed me to wonder more about what exactly the Founding Fathers envisioned for liberty. It is said that they were adamant about “liberty” for all, yet most were slave owners themselves. They wrote a constitution that allowed for the confinement of the American Indians who owned this place before we showed up.
Now don’t get thinking I am going woke or something, I am merely stating the facts. Many may wonder how the Founding Fathers could pretend they did all of this in the eyes of God and Christianity. I am not going to pretend to be the best student of the Bible but I can indeed tell you that there are a ton of Bible verses that speak to the ownership of slaves. For example, let’s look at Colossians 4:1, “Masters, treat your bondservants justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.”
This brings me to my real point which is that we are enjoying the “liberty” set forth by the Creator not by the Founding Fathers. In today’s world, it is clear that we are seeing the daily battle between good and evil. Our rights as American citizens are granted by God and protected by that important document we call the U.S. Constitution. The huge unspoken issue is that we, as dutiful citizens or disciples of Jesus Christ, must remain diligent and not be complacent.
This brings up another untold story of the birth of our nation. Until the most recent illegal immigration that has taken place, the United States has been a refuge for religious freedom. Millions of immigrants came to America because they were escaping persecution. Both Washington and James Madison spoke of this as reported in the National Review in 2018:
“George Washington noted that for ‘the poor, the needy, & the oppressed of the Earth,’ America was already what he called ‘the second land of promise.’ This Promised Land offered said James Madison, ‘an asylum to the persecuted and oppressed of every nation and religion.’”
“If you aren’t free to think your own thoughts and believe your own beliefs,” fumed Madison, “you aren’t free, period.”
So here we are, 247 years later, in the U.S. trying to find the best path forward for our kids. I am convinced that throughout the course of the history of this nation, folks have been willing to sacrifice anything necessary for the liberty of the next generation. In fact, we have actually done that for the right to pursue the “liberty” of eternity and life in heaven, not just here on earth.
We celebrate Independence Day with the flying of Old Glory but it is even more importantly a celebration of the glory to God that our ancestors left for us to be able to enjoy.
Editor’s note: The views expressed here are the author’s own and do not represent the views of High Plains Journal. Trent Loos is a sixth generation United States farmer, host of the daily radio show, Loos Tales, and founder of Faces of Agriculture, a non-profit organization putting the human element back into the production of food. Get more information at www.LoosTales.com, or email Trent at [email protected].