Greetings from The Colonies!

[Clanad]

An early start:

IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen United States of America

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

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, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. � That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, � That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

Still has a nice ring to it, no?

Thank you...

[annavc]

Happy 4th July for tomorrow Clanad. Have a good one.

I once spent a 4th July in Grand Junction, Colorado. Watched the parade and kept our english voices very quiet!!!

[Quizmonster]

Yep, have a nice day, C. I know I will be doing so, as I shall be on a booze-cruise to France! That's not a cruise you go on to buy shed-loads of alcohol and bring it home for later consumption. Oh, no! This is a cruise you go on to get as much great French food and booze down you in the course of the day as you possibly can! A vastly better idea.
My only comment on the fine sentiments outlined in the Declaration would be that it took Americans an awfully long time before they themselves grasped quite what "all men" meant! Cheers

[AB Editor]

Oh Clanad, almost brought tears to my eyes! Independence Day was one of my favourite holidays growing up (before all the fireworks were rebranded 'safe and sane'!) and I hope you get to enjoy a big fireworks display.

[dawkins]

"Okay guys, one more thing, this summer when you're being inundated with all this American bicentennial Fourth Of July brouhaha, don't forget what you're celebrating, and that's the fact that a bunch of slave-owning, aristocratic, white males didn't want to pay their taxes"

Dazed and Confused - Richard Linklater 1993

D.

[jake-the-peg]

Lovely Clannad.

Isn't it interesting the use of the word "Creator" rather than "God".

why do you suppose they did that?

[Clanad]

Thanks to all for their sentiments!
Q I sincerely hope you're packing the bicarbonate! You'll take a week to recuperate...We'll be having the usual wild game and mountain oyster barbeque, but all the family and most of the neighbors in the surrounding 10 miles will be there.
And AB ED... thanks! Nice to hear from you... by the way, you're doing a terrific job!
And for dawkins and jake... have a terrific day!
annavc I'm glad you had the opportunity. Grand Junction is off the beaten path, but it's very rural American. If anyone had recognized your accent they would have been all questions and smiles, in my experience...

[jake-the-peg]

:c)

Have a good holiday Clanad

[jno]

mountain oysters.... err, all yours Clanad... enjoy yourself!

[Lonnie]

Hi Clanad,
Great post, I and my family, wish you and your family a great time tomorrow, certainly sound like its going to be.

Happy 4th July.

[Tatty Rollox]

....... and here at http://tinyurl.com/qvrvm we have a Colonial .........

[shaneystar2]

I did want to come and live with you at one time Clanad ....but those mountain oysters have put me off !!!
Have a great day with your friends and family .

[onslow1]

"we hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal..." Of course if you were a white male with a certain amount of property and position in colonial society in 1776 you may have actually believed this. I doubt most of the American colonists felt quite so equal.

Yes, I am a cynic.

[Gumboot50]

Let's not forget that the man who wrote "...that all men are created equal...", Thomas Jefferson, was a Virginia slave owner.

And they say the USA is an irony free zone!