Life on Snow Hill

Just for kicks, I did a Google search a few minutes ago on "hot topics".  Of the news sites that were returned, what stuck out to me was that several of them listed things like celebrity news, sports news or some other form of entertainment information.

Looking at the front pages of more popular online news sites give you the same feeling – celebrity, sports and entertainment news.  Celebrity divorces, which celebrity was where yesterday and who saw them, a sports star’s wife filing for divorce – why is this stuff newsworthy?  Because America wants it in the news, that’s why.

These days, more Americans are driven by entertainment in some form.  Now, when I say ‘driven’, I mean that is what they live for.  They don’t live to provide for and take care of their families, although they may make a feeble attempt every once in a while.  They don’t give priority to making sure ALL of their children’s needs are met.  But these days, adults will procreate because it is fun, but then won’t do what is necessary to take care of their offspring.  They live to have fun.  Their kids suffer because of it, and are in turn raised to believe that all that they need to live for is to have fun as well.  It all comes back to entertainment – sports, movies, celebrities…you name it.

Personally, I’m tired of being littered with information about the latest Hollywood wedding, and subsequent divorce every time I open the front page on an online news site.  Because of this, I honestly rarely visit them any more unless I hear about something by word-of-mouth and I want to go look it up.  I’m tired of being bombarded by ‘news’ of what Tom Cruise did last weekend, or what reasons Cynthia Rodriguez has for wanting to divorce A-Rod.  This is not news!

News is covering events around the region, state, country and the world.  I will concede that there is room in the news for some entertainment news such as a new movie coming out or which players made the all-star team.  But covering the every move of the Spears sisters is ridiculous.  Cover the latest successes in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Cover that earthquake in China, or the Presidential race.  Some of these other people should get real jobs and contribute positively to society.

This is another Summer holiday where families and friends will be getting together, having cookouts, and attending fireworks shows (or lighting up their own fireworks).  It’s always a good time, but somebody invariably gets hurt in a roman candle fight or bottle rocket war.  Although fireworks safety is a legitimate topic, that will not be the meat of this post.

What does the 4th of July mean to you?  Is it what I’ve just described?  Good for you – you enjoy time with your family and friends and good clean fun.  I will be participating in activities like that as well, and I look forward to them.  However, that is not what this holiday means to me.

Rather than referring to it as ‘the 4th of July’ or simply, ‘the 4th’, I’d rather refer to it as Independence Day.  You may ask, "Why did you title this post as the 4th of July then?"  My response would be something to the effect of enabling you to find it.

Independence Day (July 4, 1776) is when the Declaration of Independence was approved by Congress and adopted to set our country Independent from the rule of any other.  King George wanted nothing to do with that – he wanted America to fall under his rule and continue to be British colonies with people that served him.

British Parliament began taxing the people in the colonies to pay their debt for the Seven Years’ War.  That is where the "No taxation without representation" slogan came from, and it expressed the views of many colonists.  Great writers such as Thomas Jefferson began arguing that Parliament was the legislature of Great Britain only, and that the colonies had their own legislatures.  The only connection to British Parliament was their loyalty to the crown.

And so it began that the Declaration of Independence was written.  It was something the people wanted.  The king had issued a proclamation of rebellion in response to Congress’ second petition to the king for his help in addressing colonial grievances.  This petition was sent in hopes to avoid bloodshed, but the king basically set rules and laws in motion to punish anyone exhibiting ‘rebellious’ or ‘traitorous’ actions.

Now I’m starting to get too deep for my own good, but this is some very interesting research, if you’re willing to search it out for yourself.  You can, however, get a really good idea of what was going on, and why American wanted independence from Great Britain by simply reading the Declaration.  The signers knew they were basically signing their death warrants, but they believed the cause of freedom for this great country was worth much more than their own lives.

Tags: 4th, day, independence, july