Monday, July 4, 2016

The Fourth

Today is the Fourth of July, a holiday celebrated nationwide. It is in honor of the day in 1776 that the 13 colonies declared their independence from Britain.

Most of us celebrate it in one fashion or another. Barbecuing. Visiting relatives. Or simply enjoying a day from work.

But we can also take it deeper. We can add a holiday like this to our gratitude list. Because our founders declared independence we get to live a relatively free life.

Sure, our country isn't perfect. But it is the richest and most powerful in history. Very few nations enjoy the prosperity and national security as does ours. More people are trying to get here than to leave for another country.

All one needs to do is follow the media to read of the travails and problems facing many countries. War, large scale terrorism, cities blown apart. Lives lost in the name of primitive ideologies.  Economic downturns.

Recently our nation has experienced violent spillovers from countries that don't have our freedoms. Yet what we're experiencing is minimal compared to the horrors that some nations are embroiled in at the moment.

It's easy to be grateful for what we have compared to what some live with.