"Pomp, Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations, from one end of the continent to the other, from this time forward forever."

I'm a sucker for the American Revolution. Stories of the doomed valor and inexcusable waste of the Civil War bore me to tears, but any dozen lines of debate about independence from the First Continental Congress always send shivers down my spine.

The quote in the headline is from Founder John Adams' letter to his wife Abigail after Congress voted to declare its independence from Great Britain. The actual Declaration was signed and read out in public the first time two days later - on July 4. Adams got the date wrong, but he knew an important holiday when he created one.

The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations, as the great Anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the day of deliverance by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp, shews, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations, from one end of the continent to the other, from this time forward forever.

Do not miss the fireworks tonight. However far you must drive to see them, do not miss them. And as you watch them, remember that the last line of the Declaration:

"And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor."

was neither rhetoric nor hyperbole. Every single one of the 56 men who signed the Declaration had publicly confessed to treason against the Crown.

Treason. For which the penalty was death by hanging.

Remember what they risked while you watch the fireworks. Realize that citizenship today requires so little of you only because they sacrified so much. And ask yourself what you have done to ensure the republic they created never dies.