"This is to be a day of independence"

Whenever I see a fireworks show, I think of “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie” (1995).  I know that sounds strange.  Stay with me and let me unpack that.  You see, the main villain of this film, Ivan Ooze (the proverbial scene stealer of the film, played brilliantly by seasoned actor Paul Freeman) posed an imminent threat to Earth.  At the beginning of the film, the Power Ranger’s leader and mentor, Zordon, tells the Rangers that centuries ago, Ivan had “ruled the world with a reign of unparalleled terror.”

Ooze had been imprisoned, but when he was released, he picked up right where he left off, boasting to the Rangers when he first meets them, “From this moment forth the world as you know it shall cease to exist.  Welcome to my nightmare!”  These were not just empty words, either.  Ivan Ooze proved to be the most formidable foe the Rangers had ever faced.  To sum it up, the Power Rangers eventually defeat Ivan Ooze.  At the film’s end, a fireworks show occurred, in celebration that the Earth inhabitants were safe and free!

If that film didn’t move you, another movie illustrates what I’m trying to convey today.  In “The Wizard of Oz” when Dorothy arrived in Oz, via a tornado that carried the house she was in, the house landed on the Wicked Witch of the East, killing her, and thus ending the tyrannical reign she had over the town of Oz.  Upon discovering the news, the mayor made this proclamation: “This is to be a day of independence.”  

By now you are tracking with me, I use these stories to illustrate that the 4th of July isn’t just a chance to have some time off from work.  There’s a deeper, celebratory note we must not forget.  As a boy, I used to sing Lee Greenwood’s 1984 song “God bless the U.S.A” to audiences, with my dad playing the piano, for musical accompaniment.  The chorus of that song says, “I’m proud to be an American, where at least I know I’m free.  And I won’t forget the men who died and gave that life to me.  And I’d gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today.”  

Enjoy the day.  Enjoy the fireworks.  Enjoy a day of different routine.  Enjoy spending time with family and/or friends.  But in whatever way you choose to fill July 4th, savor what the day is about: celebrating the freedom America enjoys.  It is a freedom that brave men and women gave their life for.  It is freedom we must not take for granted. 

God bless,

Kevin