The Fourth of July – A Hollow Holiday

By Jim Jester

Have you ever noticed that in recent years the birthday of our country is usually referred to as the “Fourth of July” rather than the traditional “Independence Day?” Could it be that the authorities do not want us to think about independence or the actual founding principles of America? I think it is a very real possibility. Those in control and the media will use our once great holiday for political purposes, glorifying the military, and talking about “those who died for our freedom” even though they are thousands of miles away in a foreign land. They will tell us tear-jerking stories just to keep us in line. The “liberals” and other establishment politicians do not care if we have a day off to party, drink beer, watch fireworks or even wave a flag; they do care if we become activists to preserve what is left of the few freedoms (gun rights, free speech, etc.) that still remain. I assert that the Fourth of July is void, empty, useless and without real meaning – in effect, a hollow holiday.

Therefore, I do not celebrate the Fourth of July holiday because we are not truly free! America is void and so is the holiday commemorating its birth. We have not been free since the “Civil War.” The South fully expected to celebrate the 4th of July, 1863, with the defeat of the Northern Army at Gettysburg. This was General Lee’s plan in ending the war against the tyrannical North and confirming Southern independence. The southerners were the last patriots that fought to keep a constitutional America as founded.

The northern propagandist will say, “The slaves were set free and that was a gain in freedom for America.” The reality is that they were not set free any more than the South was set free. That came later with the passage of the 13th Amendment. If the war really was about setting people free, then the South would have been allowed to go free and keep their new nation. Instead, the war was a huge set-back for race relations and freedom in America. The Republican administration gave special privileges to non-citizens (former slaves), and the aftermath of the war caused an enormous amount of animosity between the two major races in the country. Blacks were allowed to vote and appointed to run the various state governments in the South; while the former White leadership (many of whom were related to the founding fathers) who participated in the rebellion could not vote or enter politics! The South was forced into a union it did not want. They could not to be free to exercise their own democratic processes. Today, the result is that we are forced to support things (with tax dollars) that we do not approve of. Therefore, we also are not free.

Many Americans have been convinced that they are free, yet know very little about what truly happened in this country over a century and a half ago. The “freedom” that we think we have is not real, but is granted by way of a permit or license from a tyrannical government. Land taxes and income taxes all started after the War of Northern Aggression, which allegedly brought more freedom to America. “Independence Day” is useless simply because there is no independence. Instead, many Americans clamor for more dependence upon the federal government by way of some kind of economic help or protection. Instead of trusting God, they lean upon the hand of man. Why celebrate a day that is only an illusion from the past?

The War of 1861 was the beginning of Federalism. George Washington said, “Government is not reason; it is not eloquence; it is force! Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master.” The South certainly discovered the truth spoken of so vividly by the founding father. Do not blame the current president or congress for all the woes of Amerika – blame all the presidents and congresses since Lincoln! It was he who altered it into the inclusive form we have today.

If the Confederacy had won at Gettysburg (July 1-3), the war would have ended, sparing thousands of lives. The “Civil War” would have become known as the “Second American Revolution.” The Constitution would have remained intact, not blown into parts. Our independence would have remained.

On July 3rd, 1863, the Army of Northern Virginia knew they could not celebrate their independence on their march back home. All of America became a lost cause, constitutionally speaking. Today, we cannot act independently or decide our own destiny. We are led to believe we must follow the lead of the federal empire. Therefore, nothing is left to celebrate. The Fourth of July, sometimes known as Independence Day, has been stripped of its meaning. It is a hollow holiday.