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Not “Happy 4th of July” or “Happy 4th.” Every country has a Fourth of July. Only here in the United States is it a holiday. It’s the day we celebrate our independence from the British crown and asserted our status as an independent nation.
We enjoy our freedoms – the ability to publicly disagree with the government and each other, the ability to move around the country freely, our right to peacefully assemble in support or protest on public ground, our right to worship as we please – including not at all – without interference from the government.
Many disguise or misunderstand freedom. Most often, license is misconstrued as freedom, but there’s a difference. License is the unfettered ability to do something because you can. Freedom is the unfettered ability to do something because you should. It’s a subtle, but important, difference. I think it’s best summed up in that line from Jurassic Park: “Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should.”
In addition to the cookouts, the fireworks, and the celebration, take half an hour or so and read the Declaration of Independence. If you’re really enterprising, read through the Constitution, too, including all of the Amendments. These aren’t antiquated, outdated documents. They are the foundation our free American society is continually being built on. Contrary to what some believe, the Bill of Rights is not a granting of privileges that can be revoked by governments. It is a confirmation of the rights all people have been endowed with by our existence.
Even if you can’t take the time to read our founding documents, take a moment during your celebrations to toast or otherwise honor our military members – active, Guard/Reserve, retired, separated, missing-in-action, or killed-in-action. Don’t forget their families, either. These men and women are a part of the only all-volunteer military in the world. They have sacrificed the comforts of their homes and families; many have sacrificed their health and still others their lives, to preserve and protect our Constitution, our rights, and our way of life.
Today, as much as any other (if not more), we’re all Americans. For one day, set aside political differences and show all Americans the respect we all deserve as people with rights.