How happy is the 4th?

How happy is the 4th? My pastor at bible study talked about inner dependence versus inter dependence. Citing the pending holiday, he talked briefly about how people would barbecue and pop fireworks but will not even think about the holiday and its significance. We know that the declaration of independence was signed on this day in 1776. Yet, a lot of people could care less for whatever reason. The militant side to me does not care. When this document was written, Black people were still in the chains of slavery. So it seems odd to celebrate a day of freedom when freedom was not apart my people's lives. So how happy am I on the 4th. I am happy for a plethora of reasons, but the declaration of independence isn't one of them. While Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had to remind the powers that be in his day about the importance of that document in the face of mobbing whites, burning churches and lynching, the "real" dirty south could careless about the rights of Black people. So while others celebrate with flags in the front lawns, families getting together, and laughter, I cannot be mad. The graveyards are filled with freedom fighters who people never met but paid the ultimate price for freedom. The more radical among us will decry this day and I cannot be mad at that. In America, all is not fair. Then again, such is life. What I do know is that either way, I can be but I do not have to be happy about the 4th. So how do I really feel. I bless God for this day. I bless God for allowing me to see another day. I bless God for all the 4ths of my life. Let those who will celebrate, celebrate. Let those who will protest, protest. After all that is the genius of America. We can agree to disagree.