Let Freedom Ring

Happy Fourth of July everyone! For many today marks the unofficial start of summer with picnics and parties with friends and family, parades and fireworks. We hear and say many things like "Let Freedom Ring", "Freedom Isn't Free", and "God Bless America" but how many of us really stop and think about what freedom really means to each one of us, every day.

I have been watching "America the Story of Us" and "Revolution" on the History channel. It's quite a different reality than the condensed history book version most of us learned in school. I am in awe of the huge personal sacrifices our founding fathers and every generation since have made to maintain the freedom we so easily take for granted. Freedom is a battle that is never won. It is ongoing and constant. I am humbled by this gift I am given.

I am free. I have choices. I can voice my political views openly on this blog if I choose to. That isn't what this blog is about and I don't but I can if I want to. And I won't vanish in the middle of the night. With the touch of a button or the click of a mouse I can select from an astounding assortment of political viewpoints and opinions. And if I don't agree, I can just as easily click away. I can exercise my right to vote - by secret ballot - and make my single little voice heard. I can move freely through my neighborhood, my city, my state and my country. I can circle the globe and back again. I can effect my own future and my own happiness in the career paths and life choices I make. These are the privileges freedom affords me every single day.

Have a safe and happy Fourth of July - because you can!