I agree that some people are to be reminded of what July Fourth means. Some angry ones believed that we are still at war with the Krauts of WWII and the Red Coats of England who are running the government.  In their mind, until we defeat them, there is no Independence to celebrate.

Anyway, while you might have seen it differently what happened last night in the Fourth of July 2011, what I saw I shared it with my grandson. What experience did you share with your children and grandchildren last night, the Fourth of July 2011? Did you create hope or killed hope in their heart ... I wonder.

The fireworks last night were glorious and the exploding rockets that punctured the sky with blinding lights cascading from above and turning the black summer night into a brighter day. The crowd was spellbound – almost the whole community was there -- while the excited kids were noisy with such indescribable ecstasy. I just stood there my eyes transfixed in the heavens that in my mind was celebrating what took place on earth, specifically in this country two hundred thirty five years ago, on July 4, 1776.

When my ten-year old grandson asked me why are we doing this on the Fourth of July and what it means, I was speechless just standing there as if in a trance. I have to grope for words to say to him what was lurking in my mind. I told him it was our great, great, great forefathers who created this event on the Fourth of July. Oh, what those exploding rainbow of bright lights in the sky mean …? I said to my grandson, Ah, these are but reminders that we shouldn’t lose hope for the future no matter how we lost our way in the storm …beacon lights in your book, remember? Every sound and every blast of light that brightened the sky were illuminating the darkness of the mind of those who had given up hope that what our Declaration of Independence means was lost in Vietnam, in Iraq and now in Afghanistan. Without those lights, the hopeless will go into a r3volt because to them it is all dark, and they want to see the light

I've been hearing a lot lately about the 4th of July. I just wanted to tell people of something special about July 4th that some might not know about - it happens to be the day that Independence Day is observed in recognition of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.