ON JULY 4, WE REMEMBER THAT ACT OF FREEDOM

Richard Henry Lee, delegate to the Continental Congress from Virginia, made a motion on June 7, 1776, "that these united colonies are and of right ought to be free and independent states." His motion amounted to an act of treason against the British government, and it took nearly a month for the other delegates to pass it. Two days later, the delegates adopted the Declaration of Independence. The date was July 4.

For most Americans, the Fourth of July, or Independence Day, is a day off from work, a day of picnics and golf and softball and backyard barbecuing and firecrackers.

For the signers of the Declaration of Independence, July 4 was the day they signed their own death warrants, a matter they took no less lightly than any of us might if we faced the death penalty for our actions, no matter how right or just our cause.

To the signers of the Declaration of Independence -- Bartlett, Gwinnett, Hooper, Lewis, Morton, Ross, Taylor and Witherspoon, to name a few we owe a tremendous debt. And so Wednesday we will celebrate our freedoms and our rights as American citizens.