IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776 (2 Viewers)

[Dave Hahn]

I had a great 4th of July as well; the usual picnic followed by fireworks at night.

Love those John Adams quotes Mike. I recorded and have so far watched 4 installments of the documentary miniseries, The Revolution. One line from the second episode sticks out in my mind, I loosely quote it here :

In writing the Declaration of Independence, the ideas of the European Enlightenment were sown in the soil of the New World and would reap a crop that would change the world forever.

It was also pointed out in some length how Jefferson and others agonized over the slavery issue. Jefferson wrote several lines concerning this plague among the colonists; all of which were removed by the delegates in open session. One of the historians for the series stated that: (forgive me for another loose quote)

The issue of slavery bothered all of them, but they could not deal with two earth shattering ideas at once, the abolition of slavery and declaring themselves independant from the crown. Slavery was kicked down the road for another day, that day was the Civil War and it was a very bad day indeed.

 

[RobertR]

I attended the Concert for Heroes at Riverside National Cemetary I was very moved by the heroism and bravery of the men being honored. One of them lost his entire family in the Holocaust, and decided to repay the soldiers of the country that liberated him by serving in our military. Another honoree has had every member of his family serve since the 1600s. The music was great, too.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Happy 237th Birthday, America!Hope all of the American HTFers have a fun and safe celebration.

 

[Dave Upton]

Happy Independence Day HTFers!

 

[Mike Frezon]

Nice bump, Adam!

Dennis mentioned Edmund Burke in one of the early posts in this thread (and his impact on Jefferson). I had a viewing of the musical 1776 at my house last night and just made a post in another thread on the film. Here's an excerpt:

Just grand. The best thing about this film is that it makes available--in a very accessible way to the audience--a great demonstration as to why the founding fathers got it right and so many of today's elected officials (at all levels of government) consistently get wrong. Lyman Hall sums it all up quite nicely in his brief conversation with John Adams before changing Georgia's vote in favor of independence. He quotes Edmund Burke's writings:
Quote

Your representative owes you, not his industry only, but his judgment; and he betrays, instead of serving you, if he sacrifices it to your opinion.

Today, it seems most elected officials believe that by bowing to the opinions of their constituents will ensure them re-election instead of doing what is actually best for them. No polls. No pandering. Deliberation and tough decision-making are what's needed. And that agonizing compromise to ensure that the Declaration passed Congress is something I can hardly imagine happening in today's Congress.


I think we so often take the greatness of this nation for granted. It is a great day each year to focus on what makes the United States such an incredible nation.

 

[Kevin Hewell]

I had a viewing of the musical 1776 at my house last night and just made a post in another thread on the film. Here's an excerpt:

I guess I'm not the only one who has to watch our DVD of "1776" on the fourth. Such a great film.

 

[Sam Posten]

Happy 237th Birthday, America!Hope all of the American HTFers have a fun and safe celebration.

Um i think you are mistake Adam, America is 2013 yesterday!

http://mashable.com/2013/07/04/america-2013-years-old/