Celebrating our Independence Day

By brittany pettiford

“We will not go quietly into the night! We will not vanish without a fight! We’re going to live on! We’re going to survive! Today we celebrate our Independence Day!”- President Thomas Whitmore

This memorable quote from the 1990s film “Independence Day” is what I always think about on the Fourth of July. What started out as a solemn day of recognition of our independence for 2.5 million new Americans is now a national holiday for 318.4 million citizens who enjoy one of the most jubilant and lavish celebrations.

For centuries, many Americans have taken the opportunity to commemorate the day we became independent to the fullest. In 1777, a year after the Declaration of Independence was signed, Americans celebrated by hosting parades, giving speeches and prayer, official dinners and salutes to the 13 free colonies of the United States. Americans also decorated ships in our countries colors red, white and blue.

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The Fourth of July celebration is pretty much the same today except on a much larger scale. Friday the nation will unleash its massive array of everything patriotic from cakes and cookies, flags, clothes and decorations galore. A parade is always in store with patriotic floats, candy and confetti.

Fireworks imported into America during the fourth are at a whopping $203.6 million, a lavish investment to provide for all the best shows across the country. As a child, they were my favorite part of the fourth, aside from picking out a cute red, white and blue outfit. The brilliant colors shooting in the sky and the thrilling booms and crackling sounds were amazing to me. Eating the Georgia barbeque and hearing the “Star-Spangled Banner” topped off the experience as the firework finale began. But some of the best fireworks I’ve ever seen were at Navy Pier in Chicago. To watch sparks of so many different colors hovering over Lake Michigan is simply mesmerizing.

An essential part about this national holiday has ultimately become the barbeque. I can smell it now, the hickory smoked sausage and beef ribs, just teasing my nostrils. In my family everyone plays a role in the cooking the food, but I always enjoyed eating the food much more. An estimate of 6.1 billion pounds of meat will be shipped all over the U.S. from Texas. So, prepare your seasonings and fire up your grills. Where there’s food, there are also family and friends hungry for the most delicious part of the holiday.

Amongst the celebration of our independence, is laughter. No matter where I go, my fellow Americans are always laughing and enjoying the day. The most important thing is to remember that this holiday is to remember the spirits of those Americans who came before us to fight for the freedom of our country. Remember the men who later proclaimed “We the people”. And those who demanded that freedom should ring. Independence Day is a celebration of freedom throughout the course of our American history. Happy Independence Day!

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