(from the Jefferson Memorial)

In the past week, I've stood in the rotunda of the US Capitol and viewed the Washington Monument from the steps of The Jefferson Memorial. I've listened to the Declaration of Independence read twice, once by Callum (arduous), once by the reporters and newscasters of NPR's Morning Edition (moving). We celebrate so much around this holiday (this year I'm celebrating how doggone tired I am), but listening to those words, so soon after standing in the shadow of Lincoln and Jefferson, I'm awed and grateful for what thoughful measured men they were. Were they flawed? Of course? Is that document flawed? Of course it it? But to stand up and so eloquently say, "We are equal and we will be free," and to use their words before they raised their fists. That part impresses me.