Take a deep breath. The air filling your lungs is the air of freedom, bought with the precious blood of noble men who died courageously for their nation. Can you feel the liberty coursing through your veins, stirring up images of Paul Revere's ride, Washington crossing the Delaware, and John Hancock signing the Declaration of Independence?
Sadly, our team has been forced to spend their Independence Day in yet another land which was once tyrannized by the hideous strength of the British Empire. But in this state of terrible oppression, we too have stood for the cause of freedom, throwing off the chains of tyrannical might.
Throughout the course of the day, we celebrated the birth of our nation through various overtly patriotic acts. At breakfast, we recited, from memory, the Preamble to the Constitution and selections from the Declaration of Independence. Megan gave a rousing rendition of the Gettysburg Address, and we ceremoniously poured a cup of British tea down the drain while chanting "No taxation without representation!" - our very own Boston Tea Party. At the office, we officially declared our 3rd story room to be American soil, requiring passports for entry and departure. Every day at precisely 11:00, an Indian woman brings us each a cup of hot tea. Today, we refused to accept this symbol of our bondage. Instead, we committed an act of civil disobedience, only accepting one of the cups, and this we did for the sole purpose of dumping it out at the end of the day (this sounds horribly rude, but our hearts were pure) - yet another commemoration of the Boston Tea Party. Then at dinner, we prefaced our meal by standing to sing all four verses of "The Star-Spangled Banner" while the Indian cooks looked on in disbelief and scorn. We concluded our celebrations by watching a video of fireworks on YouTube while blowing up party favors.
Thus we concluded a very unforgettable Independence Day. Surely all four of us will fall asleep tonight with pride in our hearts and the immortal words of Patrick Henry, "give me liberty or give me death!", echoing in our heads.
All joking aside, all four of us realized today how blessed we are to have been born in America. Although none of us can seem to put a finger on it, we all experienced the 4th of July in a very new and positive way.
God bless America!
- The Minutemen
