Saturday, July 8, 2017
Graniteville • Vaucluse • Warrenville
Vol. 3, No. 6
Celebrating Independence by Anne Fulcher
According to Webster’s Dictionary, “ the definition of independence for English Language Learners. freedom from outside control or support: the state of being independent. : the time when a country or region gains political freedom from outside control.” As children, we are raised to be independent and be able to take care of ourselves but there is much more to independence that what the definition states. July 4th celebrates the independence of the United States from foreign rule. We celebrate freedom that comes with the independence of our country but are we REALLY independent? We must have an income of some sorts to survive; we must have food/sustenance to
maintain our body’s health and well-being. We must have a place that allows us to sleep or our body will shut down. We need people in our lives to keep us mentally adept and stimulated. So, in essence, we are not as independent as the definition implies. I depend on my family and friends to hear me tell the good and the bad of my day and I also need to be there for them if they need me. Helping others makes me feel like I am playing an integral role in the lives of others. I guess that is why I spent so many years in the healthcare profession. My need to be a caregiver makes me dependent on those who may need my help and or assistance. I love to play problem solver and many times that need makes me VERY dependent on those people who have a problem that can’t find a solution to.
Local, state and federal law that regulates what is legal and what is not in our lives governs us, the people. So we are independent to a certain degree. And then there are the spiritual laws of the Bible we choose to live by. There have been rules since the beginning of time and there always will be. Today, more so than ever! But the rules of life and living give us the independence that we are privileged to have as residents of the United States. The words of the Martina McBride song ring true today, Let freedom ring, let the white dove sing let the whole world know that today Is a day of reckoning. Let the weak be strong, let the right be wrong roll the stone away, let the guilty pay it’s Independence Day.