Sometimes the Fourth of July goes over my head.
In the sheer summer fun of this holiday, it can be too easy to forget what it is we're celebrating. I get caught up in fireworks and root beer floats and my siblings' laughter in the sweet evening air. And there's nothing wrong with that.
But this year, living on a military base with servicemembers deploying every day, the true idea behind the sparklers and the barbecues has become so clear to me.
Freedom is something deeply ingrained in every human heart. It's something we dream of, something that is worth our blood and our sacrifice. And this is what we celebrate when we fill the skies with fireworks and gather with friends for picnics. It's about American lives and the ideal they were given for.
From those who fought for liberty in our past...
...to the warriors of the present...
...and those whose sacrifice is the longest, the ones who will live with the empty place at the table long after the fanfare and the eulogies are gone.
The countless lives given in pursuit of true liberty is a mantle that we must never forget to carry as Americans. Not as a morbid weight to burden us, but a precious responsibility, a charge to keep, that "we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain".
So today, let's hug our families close, slurp watermelon, laugh a lot, and let the memory of the price paid for our freedom both humble our hearts and make us stand tall.
God bless the USA!
(all images from weheartit)
