Independence Day may be my favorite holiday. Sure, I love Christmas and Thanksgiving, and Easter and St. Patrick’s Day are not without their charms. But America’s birthday is a holiday like no other. Over the past eight years or so, with two exceptions, we’ve helped put on a large block party, complete with games, food, strong drink, music, patriotic readings, and, when the sun goes down, plenty of fireworks. I love the fellowship. I’m dismayed at the ignorance of some of my fellow Americans, of course. But I think the holiday can serve an educational purpose without dampening the fun. And as with any holiday, one often looks for reasons to, shall we say, stretch it out a bit. Why celebrate American independence and liberty just one day out of the year? Several years ago, I found a good excuse in two letters John Adams wrote to his beloved wife, Abigail. This was just after the delegates at the Continental Congress cast the fateful vote to separate from Great Britain and draft a Declaration of Independence. Adams, along with Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, formed the drafting committee. These were heady days, the culmination of years of argument, abuse and
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