The past four weeks have seen posts in this space from the “Long Beach Writers”, students at Wilson High School in Long Beach who follow in the path of the “Freedom Writers” of a decade or so ago; students in Erin Gruwell’s class. Those students, the Freedom Writers, were the authors and/or subjects of an eponymous book and movie. When one says “Freedom Writers” in Long Beach, it is usually in reference to Gruwell’s students.
When I think of “Freedom Writers” I think of a different group, I think of a group of men two hundred thirty-two years ago who wrote of Freedom, and Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness; I think of a group of men who gathered together for the purpose of improving their relations with England and in the course of their debates and in reaction to events around them chose instead to declare independence from their ruler, the King of England. Since childhood I have had a fascination with the American Revolution and those involved.
There could be many factors that contribute to this fascination. If pressed for a primary cause I would say that having spent most of my elementary school and some middle school years in the region where the United States was formed and fought for was what sparked my interest in the Revolution. In 1970 our family moved from Tulsa to a suburb of Philadelphia. Our home was down the street from a home built before the Revolution, the road on which we lived was used by British troops who were encamped in our town, Berwyn. About five miles from our home was Valley Forge, where Washington and his troops spent the famous winter of 1777 with many of the troops without boots and at times resorting to eating their horses. The fight for Freedom occurred right where I was living! Very exciting stuff for a young boy with a passion for reading biographies of the Founding Fathers, I was living where it all happened. It also did not hurt that my birthday is July 5th and when I was little thought the fireworks were for me—perhaps sparking the intellectual curiosity of “if not for me then for who are these fireworks?” As I grew older living every day where the history of the world was forever changed had a significant impact on my desire to learn about this period and the men who shaped it.
A short trip by train or car was Philadelphia—cradle of Liberty. My mother was not going to let the opportunity pass for her children to learn all they could from what was available to us—Independence Mall where the Continental Congress and later the Constitutional Convention were convened. At that time it was still possible to lay my little hands on the cool metal of the Liberty Bell, close my eyes and imagine it ringing until it cracked to announce that we had declared independence from England! Let Freedom Ring! I was on the tour of Independence Mall so many times I could have been a guide and given the tour by the time I finished fifth grade—every time we got to the State House and the room where the Constitutional Convention was held I would slyly sit in a seat on the left side, a couple of seats from the edge and during the talk the guide would point at me and say, “that young man is sitting where James Madison sat, the man many consider the author of the Bill of Rights and our Constitution.” I would sit up a little and smile at the tourists. My passion was further fed by playing James Madison—and led to further reading and learning.
I had a real Declaration of Independence, well it looked real and they printed it on paper meant to imitate parchment so for a ten year old kid it might as well have been real, and would try to read the hand written words and understand the strange sentence constructions used by Jefferson. “When in the course of human events…” “…certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness..” “…governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed…” “that these united colonies are, and of right ought to be free and independent states…” What wonderful words, words and meaning I would not fully comprehend until much later in life, but while not fully understanding the meaning of some of the words, I certainly knew their intent: We will no longer be subjects of England but choose instead to form our own country where we would be free and all Men could pursue life, liberty and happiness—a concept I embraced early in life due to my environment surrounded by American history.
Later in life, in college, when I more thoroughly studied the Declaration and the Constitution, I marveled at what masterpieces these documents are and how while created two centuries before are applicable and governing still today. The Declaration sets forth the rights of Man, the rights of the governed; it then goes into a list of grievances against the Crown; it concludes with the declaration of independence from England, the Crown and the rights the new states are granting themselves. From this Declaration of Independence and subsequent Revolutionary War followed a Constitution eleven years later that formally created the United States of America and laid down the Bill of Rights as its foundation.
Those events in the latter part of the Eighteenth Century inspired other men, other societies, to declare their own independence and to form their own nations. Jefferson, Washington, Adams, Franklin, Hancock and many others declared to all of the world and to the future that Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness are unalienable rights of all Man; unalienable in that they are given by Providence and as such cannot be abrogated by Man—principals which guide us to this day.
I have never been in favor of calling our national holiday the “4th of July”, I prefer Independence Day. Like Christmas, it seems Independence Day has become more about the celebration than the reason for the celebration. Today, on July 4, 2008, as you celebrate our Forefathers’ Declaration of Independence and vision to create the United States of America, I hope you take a moment to consider the great personal courage taken by those men, and their families, over two hundred years ago today so that you may speak your opinions, read news from a free press, avow your faith in the religion of your choice, cast your vote without coercion or influence, and enjoy many of the other liberties denied so many others on our Earth. We, as individuals and as a nation, have many problems and issues that need attention and correction—we often disagree as to the solutions to those problems and the steps taken; but even with our disagreements we are free to express those disagreements and propose our solutions thanks to their laying the foundation for our government, our freedoms and our liberty.
Below is a link to the Declaration of Independence, I truly hope you take a few minutes from your busy and hectic life to read it and reflect on what these words meant in 1776 and what they mean today.
Happy Birthday America!
The original Freedom Writers Declaration of Independence
Your thoughts welcome, click here to email me or on “Leave A Comment” below for public response.