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A Look Back: Independence Day
Cassie Cater - Guest Writer
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Editor's Note: This piece was originally written in 2002, less than a year after the terrorist attacks of 9/11/2001.

July 4^th has come and gone with all its baseball games and family picnics, for yet another year. I don’t know if it’s the faint scent of hotdogs mixed with the acidic smell of sparklers or if it is the sound of laughter trailing across the lake, but somehow, something lingers in the midst of the evening mist.

Unlike Independence Days in years past, we celebrated more than just the birth of a nation. We celebrated the birth of a new perspective. We celebrated the thought that family and friends are an unparalleled and precious commodity. We looked into the eyes of our children and realized, they are truly a gift from Heaven above, and we held our hugs a little longer. We understood the importance in that moment when we all bow our heads and thank God for the lives of those lost in every endeavor to keep this country safe and free.

Somehow, something will linger in our memories tonight when we pass out goodnight kisses and turn the lights down in our sleepy little town. We will realize that tomorrow has never been promised us and our lives are precious however frail. We will feel far away from the ground that shook a nation, yet somehow strangely near, in the pounding of our hearts and the tears in our prayers.

We can never forsake the American spirit that has taken our country into its arms. We must look up and thank God that tonight we can say thank you, forgive me and protect us. Tonight, we think of soldiers thousands of miles away. Isolated from family and friends with only their faith and prayers to comfort them. Offering their lives to protect something they feel is worth preserving . . . freedom.

God bless America. May we never forget our Independence Day and the cost at which it was won.