As we mark the Fourth of July weekend, let's pause amid the frolicking to ponder the meaning of independence and freedom -- and consider what Frederick Douglass had to say when called upon to give a widely publicized and much-anticipated oration on July 5, 1852.
Those demonstrations in Egypt and Brazil, and the Arab Spring uprisings that came before them, remind me once again that our government can be better if we're willing, together, to put in some effort. To speak up. To demand change. To attend a meeting now and then.
Instead of spending a lot of time arguing over whether Morsi acted any more democratically than the millions seeking to depose him, or whether what the army did was a coup, let's focus on why Egyptians mobilized en masse, and what they hope to achieve through the military's intervention.
I head over to the Arthur Fiedler Footbridge, but it's closed off to pedestrian traffic. This upsets me. In the old days, I could enter the event at any point along the Charles River. No more. A single entrance has been established by Homeland Security.
It seems incredible that early Americans celebrated the 4th of July (a celebration of independence) even though slavery was tolerated in some states until the Civil War. Millions of Americans openly supported slavery while millions more quietly used it to their advantage.
We all have stories to be proud of. But we often forget, our stories are not competitive or comparative; rather, they are what hold us together. The more I am a part of the American Dream, the more convinced I am that it is alive and well.
Before you light up the grill for this year's Fourth of July celebration, we wanted to give you a chance to catch up on YouTube top 5 most amazing B...
As we gather with friends and family with a grateful toast to our servicemembers who defend our freedoms this 4th of July 2013, we celebrate our most sacred freedom -- the civic sacrament of voting.
Americans are a rarity in the world in that they identify themselves not by human categorization but by an idea forged 237 years ago in the Declaration of Independence. A state of mind as much as a state of being is what enables the United States to be the premier nation of nations.
Just as American independence required Georgia and New York, Massachusetts and South Carolina to join forces to win the Revolutionary War, we are each fundamentally dependent on one another in our own lives.
On this 237th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, the daughters of 2013 still don't have equal constitutional rights with men, though many Americans think otherwise. Nope.
On this Fourth of July, it is the basic realization that rolling up your sleeves and being a part of your political community, rather than grasping at a fuzzy picture of a cowboy alone on a plain, is the true display of virtue.
Financial freedom, the ability to easily choose to invest in green products and services, and deny your dollars to old school, last century, cronyism business, is the next great revolution. And, financial literacy is the key that unlocks the prison door.
As I've gotten older I've tried to reflect less on the festivities and more on the true meaning of Independence Day and all that it represents. In anticipation of this year's holiday, my mission was to learn more about the ongoing needs of those who have made and kept America free -- our veterans.
Hopefully you're well into a fun, relaxing 4th of July. But if, like many of us, you just can't put down that smartphone or tablet, have no fear: ther...
But as long as there are celebrities, there will be celebrity meltdowns. As long as there are celebrity endorsements, there will be celebrity missteps.