By this time next week, we will be celebrating the Independence of our great Nation. Wow…. Can you imagine what was going through the minds of the Founding Fathers as they debated and argued and eventually agreed upon our Declaration of Independence. Those people who wanted to remain under the laws of the British labeled the framers of the Declaration of Independence as traitors. These men, no… these brave men could have faced death due to forging our declaration of freedom from British Rule.

You see, with the signing of the Declaration of Independence we were no longer in the middle of the American "rebellion" against Great Britain… but we were beginning a "revolution" against Great Britain. On July 2, 1776 the Second Continental Congress approved the resolution by Richard Henry Lee from Virginia that "these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved." To the British, this was a revolutionary statement.

So, let's skip from 1776 to 2018. If the Declaration of Independence was to be written today, what do you think it would look like? Keep in mind, our country is in the grips of political correctness. We have removed God from many things over the past four to five decades, would we have to remove his name from the first sentence of the Declaration of Independence? And, the word men is used a few times, such as "We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights…". Would we have to find a word that is sex-neutral? Maybe instead of men, we would simply say people. Then, "that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness." I have a feeling nowadays we would have a few more unalienable Rights to spell out in our Declaration.

The cool thing is that because of those brave men in 1776, in 2018 we can celebrate our Independence, our constitutional rights, our lives as free men and free women. I once read a quote by Walter Winchell that stated, "Too many people expect wonders from democracy, when the most wonderful thing of all is just having it." Amen to that.

On Wednesday, July 4, the all you can eat pancakes begin at 7:00 a.m. The parade will begin at 10:00 a.m. by Wells Fargo Bank. We will raise the beautiful Stars and Stripes, our American Flag at 12:30 p.m. We will ask the crowd to help us sing the National Anthem and recite the Pledge of Allegiance. The food vendors will be cooking and making delicious meals and treats for you to try. At the Silver City Museum, there will be an Ice Cream Social and at the Grant County Conference Center, people will be able to view and purchase some of the most beautiful quilts in New Mexico. The Illusion Band is going to blow you away with their music from the Gough Park Gazebo. Then once the beautiful New Mexico sky turns dark and starry, the First American Bank/Town of Silver city Fireworks Show will begin.

On July 3, 1776, John Adams wrote in a letter to Abigail Adams, "It ought to be solemnized in pomp and parade, with shews, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations from one end of this continent to the other from this time forward and forever more."

Well Mr. Adams, on July 4th, we're going to do all of that and more. We hope you will join with us in downtown Silver City as we celebrate our Nation's Independence.

For more information, please call the Chamber of Commerce office at (575) 538-3785. And yep… I'm going to end the article with, "May God Bless You and Your Family and These United States of America."

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