Miss Becky's Blog

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY . . .

Today, America celebrated it's 230th birthday!

(I wrote this late on the 4th so used the term "today", but it was not posted until July 5th!)

It was on July 4th 1776 that AMERICA was born with the signing of our Declaration of Independence from the rule of England. That was just the beginning of a most important effort, to bring forth a new, unique democratic form of government, "of the people, by the people, and for the people." It was not easy and required much work and effort to bring forth a country where freedom and liberty would be for all, that all men and women would have equal opportunity to live and worship as they please.

Americans come from all different countries. I have family members from England, Denmark, Wales and a great grandmother who was part Native American (Indian). Some of them have lived in America since it's beginning and I have a grandfather who came to America in 1914. We have many Americans from Chinese origin. Today, thousands of immigrants became American Citizens in special ceremonies across the country. This usually takes about five years, however, those who serve in our military can become citizens faster than that. The news noted tonight that applications for US citizenship have increased over 15% this last year.

Following this entry is an article I posted, entitled "FREEDOM IS A WONDERFUL THING" --- stories about real people who have recently immigrated to this country. I think you would find it interesting reading.

Ken (Smiley) and I have had a quiet celebration here in Logan. This morning we went to a traditional Boy Scout Breakfast (pancakes, eggs, ham and fried potatoes) along with our friends and neighbors. (For your information, Boy Scouts of America, is a youth development organization for boys and they learn lots of different skills. Each year on the 4th of July, our Scouts, hold this breakfast to raise money for their program, it helps pay for them to take camping trips, etc. My sons were involved in this when they were scouts and so we always support this effort.)

It was especially nice at the breakfast this morning to sit across the table from a couple that we had not seen for a couple of years. In fact we met them when we were taking a Chinese class at Utah State University the fall of 2001 after we had taught for a year in China. They met each other in the class and fell in love, married, finished college, worked in Washington, D.C. for a year, have a two year old little girl and are expecting another baby next month. It was sooooo fun to visit with them and find that they now live close to us.

We spent the rest of the day working around our place, eating some Chinese food, and watching some great American traditional programs on TV. Jason and his family, who currently are living in our home with us, are in Yellowstone for a five day vacation and all of our other children are living away. So it was just Ken and I here today and it was nice! Our daughter Kara living in Boston, which was a major place for much of the beginning of our country shared in some interesting celebrations. We watched some of it on TV. I'm posting an article for you to read about the different celebrations across America today .... it says that there were about 500,000 people watching the fireworks in Boston .... they were great on TV as well. It tells of other things happening in Boston that our daughter participated in ... read if you are interested.

Another TV program tonight was a special program from the Ford Theater in Washington, D.C. This was the theater where President Abraham Lincoln was shot and later died. It's still a theater today and has the original seats. There is a flag draped from the box where President Lincoln sat that night and no one ever sits there now, in honor of him. There is an interesting museum about his life in the basement of the theater. I've been there to the museum as well to see different theater productions or shows. It's a small and wonderful theater. Tonight the program ended with a reading of President's Lincoln's famous Gettysburg Address (which is the MOST famous of all our presidents speeches) and with all the performers joining together to sing a very popular song, "God Bless America."

You may be interested in knowing that after Lincoln had given his short, simple speech at Gettysburg, he thought it was a failure, because people just got up and left. It had not been a long speech like the person before him. But a newspaper reporter asked for a copy of it. When it was printed, others read it and recognized the powerful, simple declaration of just was this country was all about. I had to memorize it when I was in school. Here it is,

Delivered at Gettysburg on November 19, 1863 by President Abraham Lincoln:

"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, upon this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that "all men are created equal"

"Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived, and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of it, as a final resting place for those who died here, that the nation might live. This we may, in all propriety do. But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow, this ground -- The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have hallowed it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here; while it can never forget what they did here.

"It is rather for us, the living, we here be dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that, from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they here, gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve these dead shall not have died in vain; that the nation, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people by the people for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

I believe that challenge, from President Lincoln, should still be apart of the heart of each true American. We need to "dedicate our lives to the preserving and sharing of freedom" to all people of the world. God did not create America just for Americans, but to bless the lives of His children all over the globe. I hope that my efforts to be a good, honest citizen of my country and to help others were I can, will strengthen that effort. I'll share more later about a responsibility American citizens have, to serve on juries in our court system. I had that opportunity last January and it was a great experience.

I LOVE AMERICA ... Just as you love your country, I love mine. To share my LIFE and LOVE with you, I need to share my country with you as well ... I'll post more articles about America and Americans in the future. HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA . . . I LOVE YOU!!!!

Miss Becky

P.S. Other events today, included North Korea shooting a missle toward America and America launched a Space Shuttle to go to the space station --- more about both these things in following articles.