Some people have forgotten what Independence Day is really about. For many, it is nothing more than a day off of work to eat hamburgers, drink beer, and blow stuff up. For myself however, I have come to see it as something much more important—a day that we should take a little time to reflect upon the gift that the founding fathers gave us by declaring their independence from Great Britain, by the sacrificing of their own lives of our military to defend our liberties, and most importantly, the gratefulness I feel knowing that I am able to enjoy my freedoms because of those two things.
Now don't get me wrong. I will in fact eat hamburgers, drink beer, and watch some stuff get blown up and I will have a great time doing it. You can count on that. But I won't take for granted the fact that I am fortunate enough to do these things because I live in a country that encourages its citizens to do so with the freedoms it provides them. If we don't live in the greatest nation on earth, why do we have so many people coming here both legally and illegally? And even still, why are there so many nations out there that want to attack our freedoms and our liberty because they fear that their own citizens will get the crazy idea that they want the same for themselves?
I am proud to be an American. I am proud to be a patriot. And I won't apologize for either. I saw a post by an immigrant under a picture that said “100% Unhyphenated American” that I think may very well qualify as more “American” than what I hear coming from a lot of people that were born and raised here. He said “ As much as I love my native country El Salvador, I find myself so blessed to be an AMERICAN. I've embraced it full, language and culture and will die on my knees praying for it or fighting for it on my feet and against any enemy foreign or domestic. I'M AN AMERICAN BORN ELSEWHERE! GOD BLESS THE USA.” Why can't the rest of us appreciate what we have in this country like this guy?
Now go eat your hamburgers, drink your beer, blow your stuff up, and don't catch anyone on fire! That wouldn't make for a very fun 4th of July celebration. Happy Birthday America!
