Happy 4th of July! This is always such a fun holiday gathering with friends and family for picnics and barbecues, eating watermelon, making homemade ice cream, attending concerts and baseball games, watching parades and, of course, fireworks. Everything is decorated in red, white, and blue, and we see lots of American flags. We sing songs like “God Bless America”, “America the Beautiful”, and “The Star-Spangled Banner”. All of these wonderful customs to celebrate Independence Day, commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring the independence of the United States of America from the Kingdom of Great Britain. It’s a wonderful holiday, and I enjoy it thoroughly. I wonder, though, how many people really think about the meaning of this day. It’s NOT about the fireworks, the parades, the food, or the social gatherings. It’s about the independence of our country.
Independence is defined as: the state or quality of being independent; freedom from the influence, control, or determination of another or others; not governed by a foreign power; self-governing. Freedom and liberty are synonyms of independence.
I found this definition of liberty: the quality or state of being free: a : the power to do as one pleases b : freedom from physical restraint c : freedom from arbitrary or despotic control d : the positive enjoyment of various social, political, or economic rights and privileges e : the power of choice.
I have been thinking about liberty and freedom a lot this past week. Partly because of this holiday, but also because of a digital scrapbook layout that I did this past week. We were supposed to do a layout about the most significant world event that had occurred during our lifetime. As I pondered that, there were many events that came to my mind. The Korean War, the war in Viet Nam, the assassination of President Kennedy, man’s first walk on the moon, 9/11, and the list goes on and on. I saw layouts done by others for all of these events and more, but I just didn’t feel like any of them were the right ones for me. Then it hit me. The Berlin Wall. I remember so well when it was announced on August 13, 1961 that the border between East and West Berlin was being closed. On that day, 27 miles of barbed wire entanglements and fences were installed through the very center of that city.
Within just a few days, the barbed wire was replaced by a sturdier structure of concrete blocks topped with barbed wire that would divide that city for 28 years. The wall not only separated the city, but it stretched over 100 miles around the city cutting West Berlin off from the rest of East Germany completely. Guard towers were also built along the wall, and anyone attempting to cross the wall from East Berlin was shot. East Berliners working in the West were cut off from their jobs and families were split. West Berliners were almost living on an island, an island of freedom in the middle of a frightening sea of Communist dictatorship. It was a very dark day for freedom in the world. Even though West Berliners lived a life of freedom, they could not visit with their family members in East Berlin, and East Berliners had all freedom and liberty stripped from their lives. Many were so desperate that they overcame their fear and tried to escape to the West. While some were successful, many gave their lives rather than live under the rule of the Communists. It brings to mind the famous quote by Patrick Henry during our own Revolutionary War that brought about our independence as a nation, “Give me liberty or give me death”.
I remember not being able to conceive of a city divided as was Berlin, and I wept for the people there who had lost so much in such a short amount of time. It made me even more grateful for the many freedoms that I enjoy in my own life. I am able to travel throughout my country and the world as I please, restricted only by the restrictions placed in other parts of the world. I am free to work, to be with family and friends, to shop where I desire. You, too, have these same freedoms. But the people of Berlin did not. Do you realize how fortunate we are to enjoy these freedoms in our country?
On November 9, 1989, more than 28 years after the border between East and West Berlin had been closed, it was announced that the border had been opened. Freedom at last! East and West Berliners alike celebrated by dancing in the street and atop the wall. I watched pictures of these people that were so very grateful to have their liberty restored as they danced, hugged, cried, and cheered, while others chopped away at the wall with hammers and chisels. I cried that day, too, but this time they were tears of joy. This was a glorious day, not just for the people of Berlin, but for all the free world.
Today there are parts of the Berlin Wall on display in cities all over the world as a reminder to us of the value of freedom. The Roman philosopher, Cicero, said, “Freedom is a possession of inestimable value”. I believe with all my heart that freedom is one of our most precious gifts. I think the people of Berlin would agree with me.
So on this day when we celebrate the independence of our country, may we all think about the value of freedom and liberty, and may we remember to thank our Heavenly Father each and every day for the blessings we enjoy in this wonderful country. Perhaps the most widely recognized symbol of liberty and freedom throughout the world is the Statue of Liberty. So in closing, I have some of my favorite images of the Statue of Liberty to share with you along with some very special quotes about freedom and liberty. Enjoy!
To deprive a man of his natural liberty and to deny him the ordinary amenities of life is worse than starving the body; it is starvation of the soul, the dweller in the body.
- Mohandaes Gandhi -
Freedom means you are unobstructed in living your life as you choose. Anything less is a form of slavery.
- Wayne Dyer -
Life without liberty is like a body without spirit.
- Khalil Gibran -
- Thomas Jefferson -
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