Tropical Storm Debbie did quite a number on the State of Florida. Although we had two confirmed tornadoes in Collier County, the damage here was very minimal. What we did receive was much needed rainfall. Depending on your location, rainfall totals were upwards of six inches for the week-long event. You will notice that our lake has partially re-hydrated due to the runoff, which is great news as prior to this storm it was lower than I have seen it in recent memory. This is especially important as we irrigate our campus with the water in the lake. Levels were so low that sand and muck was being sucked up in the lines and causing many of the valves to malfunction. The non-irrigated grass parking areas also received a shot of moisture that has allowed what was previously dirt to become grass (or weeds) once again. As I write my column, Debbie still has not made landfall, which means that we will still receive rain bands through this past Thursday.
On behalf of the clergy and staff at St. John the Evangelist, I would like to wish everyone a very safe and happy Independence Day holiday. Every year at this time, I always ponder our recognition of Independence Day. The Fourth of July is a holiday that most Americans celebrate for various reasons. The festivity may involve family, friends and of course a fireworks display. Popular culture would have you believe that the gala is a birthday party for the country. Flags wave, bands march and bystanders cheer. The parades are pageants, visible spectacles for all to applaud and enjoy. After the confetti blows away, what is the meaning of the day? Commemoration of the Declaration of Independence should be the primary reason for the remembrance. Other than historically conscious traditionalists who understand the nature of the Republic, very few perceive the real purpose of the founding of America.
We hold these truths to be self-evident,
that all men are created equal,
that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,
that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
Above are the famous words written by Thomas Jefferson that laid the cornerstone of the United States of America. The Declaration of Independence was drafted by Thomas Jefferson with only minor participation by a committee that included John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman and Robert Livingston, pursuant to a resolution of the Second Continental Congress. It was adopted by Congress on July 4, 1776.
Looking to John Adams’ famous letter of July 3, 1776, to his wife Abigail will put the celebration into perspective:
“The Second Day of July 1776, will be the most memorable Epocha, in the History of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more. You will think me transported with Enthusiasm but I am not. I am well aware of the Toil and Blood and Treasure, that it will cost Us to maintain this Declaration, and support and defend these States. Yet through all the Gloom I can see the Rays of ravishing Light and Glory. I can see that the End is more than worth all the Means. And that Posterity will tryumph in that Days Transaction, even altho We should rue it, which I trust in God We shall not.” (The Book of Abigail and John: Selected Letters of the Adams Family, 1762-1784, Harvard University Press, 1975, 142).
The intention of the remembrance is to memorialize the Declaration of Independence. But the meaning of the word, and certainly the idea of independence, is routinely ignored and often purged from the gala. A party for the sake of enjoyment snubs the solemn legacy of the founders. Yet, those who rally their attention on patriotic fervor, make an even more profound error.
The basic distinction between establishing independence, which is a prime essential to live out liberty and nationalistic allegiance, risks a fundamental disconnect in the purpose of a consensual union. The American Revolution was fought against a monarchy that prohibited basic rights of all Englishmen. The original thirteen colonies sought to become independent states, no longer under the boot of George III and the British Crown. The goal for the rebellion was to gain self-government, for each colony and to establish a state sovereignty for each commonwealth. The union that evolved and formed after the Paris Peace Treaty of 1783, into the country known as the United States was a process separate from the crucial principle established in that accord.
We are truly blessed to live in this great country and without the sacrifice of our forefathers, we would not be celebrating the 4th of July.
In His work together,
Scott Schlossberg, MBA
General Manager