Beech Tree News Network

The Fourth of July or Independence Day is one of my favorite holidays. It is a national holiday in the United States, commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. Like many others, I usually celebrate it with family, friends, food and fireworks.

Part of the online Merriam-Webster dictionary (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/independent) definition for “independent” includes:

·         not dependent: such as not subject to control by others : self-governing

·         not affiliated with a larger controlling unit

·         not requiring or relying on something else : not contingent

·         not looking to others for one's opinions or for guidance in conduct

·         not bound by or committed to a political party

·         not requiring or relying on others

Many have expressed opinions about independence, freedom, patriotism, and our country. Some comments related to these ideas include the following (https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/holidays/g4395/fourth-of-july-quotes/?s... https://www.yourtango.com/2018314492/fourth-of-july-quotes-independence-day):

·         America was built on courage, on imagination and an unbeatable determination. – Harry S. Truman

·         With freedom, comes responsibility. – Eleanor Roosevelt

·         America is hope. It is compassion. It is excellence. It is valor. – Paul Tsongas

·         America means opportunity, freedom, power. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

·         The winds that blow through the wide sky in these mounts, the winds that sweep from Canada to Mexico, from the Pacific to the Atlantic – have always blown on free men. – Franklin D. Roosevelt

·         In the truest sense, freedom cannot be bestowed; it must be achieved. –  Franklin D. Roosevelt

·         America. It is the only place where miracles not only happen, but where they happen all the time. – Thomas Wolfe

It’s been 242 years since 1776, and I hope our independence remains uncompromised for many, many more! And thanks, City of Morgantown, for the twilight fireworks – always beautiful! May this Fourth of July be a good one!