America's desire for freedom was brought on by unfair treatment from the British Parliament.
"For more than a decade before the outbreak of the American Revolution in 1775, tensions had been building between colonists and the British authorities. Attempts by the British government to raise revenue by taxing the colonies (notably the Stamp Act of 1765, the Townshend Tariffs of 1767 and the Tea Act of 1773) met with heated protest among many colonists, who resented their lack of representation in Parliament and demanded the same rights as other British subjects. Colonial resistance led to violence in 1770, when British soldiers opened fire on a mob of colonists, killing five men in what was known as the Boston Massacre. After December 1773, when a band of Bostonians dressed as Mohawk Indians boarded British ships and dumped 342 chests of tea into Boston Harbor, an outraged Parliament passed a series of measures (known as the Intolerable, or Coercive Acts) designed to reassert imperial authority in Massachusetts." (History.com)Basically, Great Britain was taxing the colonists unfairly and they demanded a change. When that argument escalated, it turned into a war. American's ought to know about the American revolution, so I will not restate much of what happened here. What I would like to point out is that our freedom was purchased through blood. Many people had to die for the idea of America before it even became a nation. Statistics say that there were 4,435 total American deaths during the Revolutionary War.
Another thing I want to briefly point out is that people are still dying for American freedoms. In 2010, a total of 1,485 military men and women were killed trying to protect your freedoms. In 2014, a total of 2,352 people were killed in the "Operation Enduring Freedom." In addition to that, 20,065 were injured. In 2014, a total of 4.412 military men and women involved with "Operation Iraqi Freedom" were killed. An additional 31,949 were injured. Each of these deaths and injuries were because these people wanted to defend you.
My point is that freedom is not "free," but we like to live like it is. I think that people choose not to think about the people who choose to die so that we can live. Thinking about that can have a somber affect on one's mood. Naturally, people don't like to be sad; therefore, they try to avoid things that make them sad. It's logical.
Alright, now because I'm me and I have the freedom to include my religious beliefs, there is one more thing I want to point out. My freedom to live and be happy came from the death of my Savior, Jesus Christ. My freedom to choose to follow Him, or to deny Him, came from His willingness to live the life of a poor man, and be murdered in the most humiliating way possible. He did that for me. He chose to so that I would recognize, if only on a small scale, how much He loves me. If you think about it, the punishment for sin is death. Jesus never sinned, and therefore He did not have to die. He died to give us the freedom of eternal life with Him. That is something that even my life will not pay for.
The cost of freedom is always blood. That is human logic. In order to maintain our freedoms, people have to die or be tortured. There is no other way to obtain it. History proves this to be true over and over again. So, when you watch fireworks on the 4th of July--Independence Day-- please remember to be thankful for those who laid down their lives to give you your freedom.
