Description

On this episode we talk about Patriotism, cover some brief history about America's Declaration of Independence, celebrated on the 4th of July and the uniqueness of our Founding Fathers vision and grand experiment that is the United States of America. While I would argue that the United States is one of the best places to live and I hope we all strive for the American ideals of freedom, liberty and justice... America has it's faults and successes but our ultimate allegiance should be to God.

NOTES:

• This Weeks Whiskey: 
• Discussion Topics / NOTES:
• • Freedom and Liberty
  • Patriotism and Christianity (where do our allegiances lie)
  • Learning history is important - understanding how unique the grand experiment of the USA is
  • Freedom - Is it all it's cracked up to be?
  • "For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery." Galatians 5:1 ESV
  • Freedom is not the presence of restriction of the absence of restriction, but the presence of the right restrictions (e.g. if you take a fish out of its natural habitat and put it on land and tell it it's free to do whatever it wants, the fish will die. Put the fish back in water and watch it thrive and show strength.  -Tim Keller
  • Other example: if you eat whatever you want for a long period of time and it's presumably bad for you, your doctor will tell you that you need to change your diet or suffer the consequences of eating bad, which could mean a shorter life. 
  • The Federalist Papers
• History overview of the 4th of July / American Independence
• • When the initial battles in the Revolutionary War broke out in April 1775, few colonists desired complete independence from Great Britain, and those who did were considered radical.
  • By the middle of the following year, however, many more colonists had come to favor independence, thanks to growing hostility against Britain and the spread of revolutionary sentiments such as those expressed in the bestselling pamphlet "Common Sense," published by Thomas Paine in early 1776.
  • On June 7, when the Continental Congress met in Philadelphia, the Virginia delegate Richard Henry Lee introduced a motion calling for the colonies' independence.
  • Amid heated debate, Congress postponed the vote on Lee's resolution, but appointed a five-man committee—including Thomas Jefferson of Virginia, John Adams of Massachusetts, and Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania - to draft a formal statement justifying the break with Great Britain.
  • On July 4th, the Continental Congress formally adopted the Declaration of Independence, which had been written largely by Jefferson. Though the vote for actual independence took place on July 2nd, from then on the 4th became the day that was celebrated as the birth of American independence.
  • Fun side note: John Adams believed that July 2nd was the correct date on which to celebrate the birth of American independence, and would reportedly turn down invitations to appear at July 4th events in protest. 
  • John Adams wrote to his wife Abigail that July 2 "will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival" and that the celebration should include "Pomp and Parade…Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other."
  • The tradition of setting off fireworks on the 4 of July began the very next year, in Philadelphia on July 4, 1777. Ship's cannon fired a 13-gun salute in honor of the 13 colonies. The Pennsylvania Evening Post reported: "at night there was a grand exhibition of fireworks on the Commons, and the city was beautifully illuminated."
  • The US Constitution was signed 11 years later (September 17, 1887) and laid the unique framework for the governmental system of America.
  • • The "Bill of Rights" are the first 10 Constitutional Amendments. There are a total of 27 amendments in total.

https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/july-4th

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