Charita Goshay: July 4, 1776, was only the start

One of the most important things about Independence Day is the one we most tend to forget:

Freedom is not a one-and-done; it is a living, breathing gift which must be preserved and protected with all vigilance.

President Ronald Reagan said freedom must be earned by every succeeding generation.

Princeton University historian Eddie Glaude notes that "Freedom is a practice."

It is written that on the final day of the 1787 Constitutional Convention, Elizabeth Willing Powel asked Benjamin Franklin what kind of nation was about to emerge, and Franklin is said to have replied, "A Republic, madam. If you can keep it."

People like to display "July 4, 1776," but perhaps Feb. 18, 1815 would be more accurate because the latter denotes the moment when the British finally stopped harassing and attacking their former colony.

Dec 7, 1941 and Sept. 11, 2001 still ring in our national consciousness because they mark the only other times since 1815 that foreign entities tried to encroach upon our sovereignty.

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Pressing for freedom

In America, someone is always pressing for more freedom. The country is filled with people who weren't included or thought about when the Declaration of Independence was published in 1776; namely, women, minorities and poor whites.

In his famous and fiery 1852 speech, "What to the Slave is Your Fourth of July?" Frederick Douglass called out the country's hypocrisy for denying millions of enslaved people the constitutional protections and freedoms which were their birthright:

"The rich inheritance of justice, liberty, prosperity and independence, bequeathed by your fathers, is shared by you, not by me. The sunlight that brought light and healing to you, has brought stripes and death to me. This Fourth July is yours, not mine. You may rejoice, I must mourn."

If you have issue with some of the current groups or individuals who are demanding more rights, keep in mind that it's a good and healthy thing because it means people still believe in the Declaration's promise of "the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them."

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'A never-ending process.'

Some Americans are deeply worried that too many people are playing footsie with fascism, theocracy, and nationalism as pushback in part against our becoming an increasingly diverse country.

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There are perpetual concerns about the influence and misuse of money to thwart and corrupt and trample the rule of law underfoot.

A seemingly endless tsunami of cash threatens to smother this republic which will result in it becoming an anemic, stilted and shallow likeness of itself.

In addition to the self-harm, corruption violates our moral obligation to those nations who look to us for example and leadership.

July 4, 1776, was a good start, but the Declaration would merely have been pretty words gathering dust were people not willing to fight for it.

That fight never ends. We reserve our freedoms by the vote. By speaking up. Through public service.

The late and great Coretta Scott King put it this way:

"Struggle is a never-ending process. Freedom is never really won. You earn it and win it with every generation."

Charita M. Goshay is a Canton Repository staff writer and member of the editorial board. Reach her at 330-580-8313 or charita.goshay@cantonrep.com. On Twitter: @cgoshayREP

This article originally appeared on The Repository: The fight for freedom didn't end July 4, 1776. That's when it began.