The tourist season in Washington, officially the “District of Columbia,” begins in April, about the time the cherry blossoms bloom. The nation’s capital is especially beautiful at that time. It is when school children from all over the nation arrive on a traditional trip to see the places they are familiar with from the news and to see the documents, faded though they may be, that were written to create the world’s first Constitutional democratic republic.
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The world lost one of its greatest space explorers with the passing of James Arthur “Jim” Lovell Jr., who died peacefully on this week at the age of 97. Lovell embodied the spirit of American exploration and the courage to venture into the unknown that defined the golden age of space exploration.
Lovell’s extraordinary career spanned four spaceflights that helped write the early chapters of humans in space. He was among the first three men to leave Earth’s orbit and journey to the moon as command module pilot of Apollo 8 in December 1968, a mission that gave humanity its first close-up view of the lunar surface and the iconic “Earthrise” photograph that forever changed how we see our home planet.
The date will be the most memorable epoch 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 shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more.
John Adams, Letter to his Wife Abigail, July 3, 1776.
That guy could sure write, couldn’t he? John Adams was prescient. He accurately described the way we celebrate Independence Day. He did get the date wrong. He was certain July 2nd would be the date we celebrate. That was the day the Continental Congress passed Virginia’s resolution on independence. July 4th, the day we do celebrate, was the day Congress approved the text of the Declaration of Independence. The document, primarily written by Thomas Jefferson, spelled out the reasons for the thirteen colonies’ separation from England.
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Take a good look at the picture above. We have never seen anything like it.
It comes from the web site of the British news service Reuters. It is a still image taken from about a minute of video. The video and the accompanying reporting should set off warning alarms across the United States. Read the Reuters article and see the full video here. I’m ready to nominate the Reuters’ team for a Pulitzer Prize.
Reuters says the video shows U.S. Marines deployed to Los Angeles detaining an American citizen. This, it is believed, has never happened before.
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It has become a tradition for me to write a series of blogs at the end of the Supreme Court term reviewing the major cases decided during the court year. I’m still working on this project, but it is not ready yet. Give me a few more days to digest the opinions the conservative supermajority dumped on the nation in the last few weeks. I find myself nearly overwhelmed by their blatant attempt to rewrite the Constitution and change our lives in ways I view with disgust and disappointment. I find it difficult to concentrate.
At times like these I like to think of better moments in the history of our great nation. We celebrate tomorrow our Independence Day, noting the date, actually July 2, 1776, when the Second Continental Congress declared “That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States….”
“The Second Day of July 1776 will be the most memorable Epoch in the History of America,” Massachusetts delegate John Adams wrote to his wife, Abigail, on July 3. Adams, often prescient, vividly described the parades, “illuminations” and festivities he believed would be regular events, staged each year to note the occasion. We wound up celebrating the Fourth of July, the date of the signing of the final form of the declaration. But whatever the date the principal of the event was the delegates’ belief that a nation should rest not on the arbitrary rule of a single man and his hand-picked advisors, but on the rule of law.
Relax with your family. Celebrate your nation. Read something about our history. You can even watch the film of 1776, the Broadway musical based on that sizzling summer of 1776 in Philadelphia, when our nation was born. And reflect on what we are making of the legacy of the brave men who met and wrote the Declaration of Independence.
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There is a cliche that says a picture is worth a thousand words. The picture above has generated millions of words, I’m sure. Some believe this photograph, known as “Earthrise,” is the most famous and influential photograph ever taken. It is certainly one of my favorites.
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