In Celebration of the 4th of July

While it is Saturday morning as I write this blog entry, there is a
bigger, more impressive label being hung on this weekend. It is
Independence Day, the great American celebration of freedom. Being a
summer holiday, the 4th of July lends itself to family cook-outs, trips
to the beach, and a slew of other recreational options. Some of us will
marvel at the gastronomic capacities of the participants at Nathan's Hot
Dog Eating Contest in Coney Island, New York. Others will enjoy just one
or two hot dogs at the ballpark, while we cheer and cross our fingers
that our team pulls out a win. And literally millions of us will linger
in the evening to watch fireworks explode in the sky above us, turning
the night into a an expansive, brightly colored, booming expression of
wonder and joy.

It doesn't matter if your family is a recent arrival to this continent,
as one set of my great-grandparents were, or if your family has been
here since the Puritan's landed, as another branch of my family seems to
have been. We all share a common bond on the 4th of July. That is a bond
that I take great pride in.

It is only relatively recently in human history that laws have been
enacted to protect the individual, as fervently as laws have
traditionally been enacted to protect the state. One of the great
legacy's of the United States is the individual's legal right to protect
their homes and their belongings for posterity. Each of us has the
opportunity build a life that we put value in, then pass the tangible
assets of that life along to our children, grandchildren, favorite
charities, or dispose of our belongings in any way we choose,
bequeathing our things to whomever we wish to pass them on to.

In the United States, the individual matters, and each of us has rights.
Our system guarantees that every individual benefits from the exact same
rights as every other individual, regardless of wealth, or position, or
family connections. We are all protected by the law.

Sometimes, these are the things I think of as I watch the fireworks
blossom overhead. Of course I also hug my children tight and enjoy the
sound of their giggling, as I try as hard as I can to cement the memory
of the wonder on their faces into my mind, as they witness a nighttime
display that will keep them looking forward to this anniversary every
year, throughout their lives.

I hope your 4th of July celebration is every bit as wonderful. And I am
glad that you and I have the opportunity to celebrate this milestone of
history together, each and every year.