Arrrgh!!!

I hesitate to post on this subject. So much has been so eloquently written by others that I almost feel I have nothing to add. But.....I NEED to say how thankful I am that I was born in the USA. We so frequently take our freedom for granted, breaking laws right and left, trying to get out of tolls and taxes, not voting, leaving issues to be decided by others, and the only reason we DARE to do things like that, is because we are free.

Our freedom was hard won. Many of the men who signed the Declaration of Independence lost everything, homes, wealth, loved ones. They knew the risk they were taking, and signed anyway. We suffered through Civil War to end the custom of slavery, so that others could have the same freedom we enjoy. We've gone to war for other countries to try to give them the freedom we hold dear.

Is the USA perfect? Not hardly. We make mistakes left and right. It's the nature of the design of our government that we must come to compromise in all our decisions. Only the test of time can tell if the decisions are right, or wrong. But, underlying every law and rule and action we take is the concept of personal freedom.

Spend some time today thinking about all the things we are able to do because we are free. Think about what life in the USSR was like, or Afghanistan, or China, or in Iran under Saddam's regime and compare it to yours. The fact that you are allowed to say you don't like what the government is doing, and that you want changes made, may be the most precious freedom of all.

To those of you who do not reside in the U.S., I ask that you forgive us our pride in being free. That pride defines us, and unites us, and is the core of every patriotic American. When we shout from the mountain tops "I AM FREE," it's because it's our most valuable asset.

I hope that you all have a great Fourth of July, and remember what it took to get us here.