Fourth of July

(First published July 4, 2003)

I'm writing this note at the end of a long Fourth of July. I worked outside during the day, then had dinner with friends at a cabin they've rented for two weeks. After that we went to see fireworks at the local high school. My daughter Emily was much more interested in the rides at the brightly lit carnival set up on the school's baseball diamond. She had her first ride on a Ferris wheel.

Mark Burson reminded me a while back that the Fourth of July was Ronald Reagan's favorite holiday. He did see the connection between our nation's independence and our growth as a free people. He celebrated freedom in so many speeches, and Independence Day celebrates our freedom as a nation. As Jefferson put it, we broke away from Britain so that all people in the New World would have an equal chance to pursue life, liberty, and happiness.

To people who followed this newsletter during the spring, my opposition to the Iraqi war is well known. It's a bad legacy of Vietnam, though, that opponents of a war open themselves to charges that they don't support the brave men and women who serve in our military. What poor logic! Criticism of Bush and his advisors who have advocated war isn't the same as criticism of our soldiers. If it were, no one could ever dissent from a policy of war.

So, we should remember our young people who had to be far from home during this holiday. They all need to know that we're thinking of them. They all need to know that we want them to come home safely. And they all need to know that we appreciate the good job they're doing.