Jazz Caruso, quill in hands, signs her John Hancock on a copy of the Declaration. (Fred Mogul)
Some of those celebrating July 4th had life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness in mind - not the kind associated with fireworks and hot
dogs - but the actual words written down in the Declaration of Independence.
The Lefferts Historic House, an 18th century farmstead in Prospect Park, invited visitors to sign a large copy of the Declaration, using
a quill and ink.
"It's sort of easy, sort of tough" to write with a big feather, decided Issa Needler, age 5. He and his brother, 7-year-old Gideon,
don't know much about the Revolutionary War, but their mom, Rebecca Needler thought the holiday outing was a good start.
"Just finding a place for their names,  squeezing it in and writing with a feather, which they've  probably never done before, was a good experience," Needler said, "and when they do learn about the Declaration of Independence, they'll be able to connect this
experience with what they've learned."
For some of the parents, interacting with the Declaration was a good reminder of how far the country has come - and, in some eyes, how far it's fallen.
"I think that where the Founding Fathers said we have the right of the pursuit of happiness, it doesn't guarantee happiness," said Timothy Quinn, of Queens. "We still really need to establish a society where we become independent, pulled up by our own bootstraps."
Quinn wants smaller government and lower taxes.
Others say more civil discourse would be a good start.
"There was plenty of strong disagreement, yet people came together and addressed the problems of the day," said Eric Jaffe. "I think that's a pretty good model for what's going on in our country right now."
But Michael Caruso isn't sure people - or politicians - ever treated each other much better or showed any more respect. He doesn't put the Founding Fathers on an especially high pedestal.
"I think they made a lot of the right calls," Caruso said, "but I think if you go back to the elections back then and the scandals back
then, there were just as many, if not more, and things generally turned out okay."
Fred Mogul has been covering healthcare and medicine for WNYC since 2002. His beat takes him to hospitals, community clinics, doctors offices, health agencies, public schools and research labs across the metropolitan area. His work has appeared on NPR and in the New York Times, Time magazine and Philadelphia Inquirer, among others.
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