My Independence Days: A Delcaration

My Independence Days tend to be muted affairs, holidays from the rush and crush of everyday life. Possessing what some might call an exhaustive1 knowledge of American history I tend not to dwell on it on any particular day, but spread my thinking more evenly across every day of the year. Independence Day, therefore, becomes a holiday from work, an evening of fireworks. Two of my favorite2 presidents are John and John Quincy Adams, and each Independence Day, I think of what John Adams (senior) wrote to his wife Abigail in the aftermath of the signing of the Declaration on July 23, 1776: The second day of July 1776 will be the most memorable epocha 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 and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and…