The little ones know when it comes to the Fourth

CINDY TRANE CHRISTESON

“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.”

-- THE DECLARATION OF

INDEPENDENCE OF THE

THIRTEEN COLONIES, IN

CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776

I couldn’t enter the Fourth of July weekend without reading and

rereading the Declaration of Independence, and I chose to begin with

the above portion of the Declaration for you today.

It’s amazing to me what our Founding Fathers and so many did and

sacrificed for our freedom so long ago, as well as those who continue

to sacrifice for freedom and peace today. I am thankful for them, and

I’m thankful for and pray for those who will continue to fight for

freedom in the future. The Fourth is a time of fun and family and

perhaps fireworks, depending on where you live. But we all know that

it is much more than just festivities.

I was curious what children know and feel about their country and

the Fourth of July, so I did some research, as did my friend Phyllis.

She talked to second-graders, and here are two of the responses: “The

Fourth of July is special because it’s Independence Day, and our

country is free, and there are some countries that are not free.”

Another said, “It is special because it was when we were free from

England ... We go to a place where they talk about the flag and

people who fight for our country. It is important that we keep our

flag safe.”

I asked two boys on their way home from swimming what they thought

of our country, and one of them replied, “Our country is the bestest

country in the whole country!”

The other boy shook his wet head, looked at his friend and said,

“I think you mean the best country in the whole world.”

He then looked at me and said, “I love this country and our flag.

We have a big one and little ones at our house, and we’re going to

decorate bikes and be in a parade in our streets.”

Another friend said, “Cindy, this is meant to be ‘one nation,

under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all,’ and we

need to pray that everyday.”

Other children I spoke with repeated the words “freedom,”

“independence,” “special,” “thankful to be an American” and one

little girl said, “We need to keep praying for freedom, for us and

for others.”

We’ve all sung and heard the words “God Bless America, land that I

love!” Let’s keep singing and praying that America will be a land

that loves and blesses God.

And you can quote me on that.

* CINDY TRANE CHRISTESON is a Newport Beach resident who speaks

frequently to parenting groups. She may be reached via e-mail at

cindy@onthegrow.com or through the mail at 537 Newport Center Drive,

Box 505, Newport Beach, CA 92660.