Parades, watermelon, get-together's, flags, potato salad, fireworks, hotdogs, sparklers, cherry pie, celebrating our great country's birthday and our freedom--- these are all traditions that make July 4th one of my favorite holidays. Everyone is in chill-mode, neighborhoods gather and red, white and blue is worn with great pride. It's the best!
This year, America turns 242 and when she first declared her independence there were only 2.5 million residents living in the U.S. Now, there are 326.6 million o Americans and 44 million of us are projected to travel more than 50 miles to celebrate the 4th; 150 million hotdogs are estimated to be consumed; and 65.5% of us will attend a neighborhood picnic or parade. Now that's what I call some serious growth and one giant party! Why? Freedom--it's our greatest asset, everyone deserves it and it's worth exercising and commemorating!
As you celebrate our country's birthday and have an blow-out holiday, I encourage you to read the inspiring quotes and take a moment to consider the patriots who had the vision of a free America, fought for liberty, gave birth to this amazing country and all of the ways you get to and can exercise your freedom every-single-day.
"Freedom is the open window through which pours the sunlight of the human spirit and human dignity." — Herbert Hoover
"You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4th not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees."
"Free, only want to be free, we huddle close, hang on to a dream...." — Neil DiamondArtwork: Preamble by Mike Wilkins, in the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC
"I think of a hero as someone who understands the responsibility that comes with freedom." — Bob Dylan
"Liberty is the breath of life to nations." — George Bernard Shaw
"Freedom lies in being bold." — Robert Frost
"Everything that is really great and inspiring is created by the individual who can labor in freedom." — Albert Einstein
"We on this continent should never forget that men first crossed the Atlantic not to find soil for their ploughs, but to secure liberty for their souls." — Robert J. McCracken
"From every mountain side, let freedom ring..." — Samuel F. Smith
"We must be free not because we claim freedom, but because we practice it." — William Faulkner
Action Item:
Enjoy the July 4th holiday!