Letters: Celebrating U.S. founding
A painting of the signing of the Declaration of Independence by J. Trumbull. Credit: Library of Congress
Regarding "As it says in the U.S. Declatution . . . " [Opinion, July 4], there can be no better way to celebrate patriotic holidays than to read the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
After reading both, as I have many times, I am reminded how sad it is to realize that many of the words contained in them mean different things to different people.
Hopefully, we can focus on the meaning and limits of words like democracy, freedom, liberty and free enterprise before we debate the political ideologies that are tearing our country apart.
Leo Montagna, Northport
I appreciated your July 4 editorial for pointing out all of the significant events in U.S. history that occurred on various Independence Day anniversaries ["In the course of human events"].
Here's another important factoid. On July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, both John Adams and Thomas Jefferson died. Two of the founding fathers and successive presidents, although vehement political adversaries, were joined in death.
Gary Aronowitz, Plainview
