美国民众开始国庆庆祝活动

In addition to the Star-Spangled Banner, those historic icons include the hat worn by Abraham Lincoln the night he was assassinated.

罗泽尔说：“我们还展出林肯总统遭到刺杀前一晚所戴的帽子。”

And the writing box Thomas Jefferson used while drafting the Declaration of Independence.

“还有杰弗逊总统起草独立宣言时的用品。”

“I mean, how much more perfect for July 4th can it be?” says Lowther.

“我的意思是，对于7月4日来说，还有什么比这更有意义的参观游览呢？”

Civil liberty

For other Americans, July 4th is about principles that can’t be displayed in a museum. Christine Coombs of Gaithersburg, Maryland, says Independence Day symbolizes the right to choose her own religion and to practice her Mormon faith without persecution.

对其他美国人来说，7月4日也意味着一些无法在博物馆里展出的原则和理念。来自马里兰州盖特斯堡的克莉斯汀.库姆斯表示，独立纪念日这一天象征着她的摩门教信仰权利不再受到迫害。

“Freedom is everything in our country,” she says. “I think it’s what our country means. It’s what we stand for - the ability to choose. I really love my religion and it was important for me to be able to choose.”

她说：“在我们国家，自由是最重要的。我想这就是我们国家的意义所在。这也是我们所要捍卫的 -- 选择的能力。我真的热爱我的宗教，对我来说，能够自由选择我的宗教是非常重要的。”

Separation of church and state

Martin Hochhauser of Poughkeepsie, New York, also believes in freedom of religion, but he believes Americans must continue to be careful about separating religion from government - a tension reflected in current political debates.

来自纽约普吉普西的马丁.霍克豪瑟则表示，宗教自由固然重要，但是美国人民也必须注意美国政坛目前有关政教分离原则的辩论。

“In New York, they just voted to let gay people get married and not to treat them as second class citizens,” he says. "But some religious groups are trying to say ‘It’s our country and the heck with every other religion and every other opinion but ours.’ That’s not right.”

他说：“在纽约，他们刚刚投票通过了同性恋婚姻合法化，不再以二等公民对待他们。但是有些宗教团体却试图表示，‘这是我们的国家，除了我们的观点，其他人的观点和宗教等等统统一边去。’这是不对的。”

Ronnie Stephens of Jacksonville, Florida thinks Americans take many of their freedoms for granted.

来自佛罗里达州杰克森维尔的罗尼.史蒂芬斯说：“我想我们美国人对于我们所享有的自由已经视为理所当然了。”

“I think it’s time that we need to just step back and reflect on how good we do have it no matter what your political affiliation is,” he says. “We can all come together and enjoy what we have here.”

他说：“我想，现在应该是我们好好回想一下，我们是如何的幸运，可以不论我们的政治立场都享有同样的自由和权利。”

Milena Carothers, 14, expresses a sentiment shared by many Americans visiting the nation’s capital in the week leading up to the Fourth of July.

“I hope that the countries that are having troubles right now will be able to celebrate their own Fourth of July in the future and their own independence.”

观光客米雷娜.卡罗斯说：“我希望那些现在仍不自由的国家的人民也能够在将来有一天能够庆祝他们自己的7月4号，庆祝他们自己的独立纪念日。”