Happy birthday, America

Published 8:00 am Saturday, July 2, 2016

Many of us are enjoying an extended weekend as we observe the Fourth of July holiday on Monday.

All across the country, fireworks will light up the evening skies, families and friends will gather, and food and music will be focal points at many functions as Americans mark the holiday. Amid all the revelry, let us not forget the true purpose of this holiday — a celebration of our nation’s independence.

This weekend, let us not forget that while we are far from perfect, our independence and our democratic process make it possible for us to enjoy our way of life and give us the freedoms to openly acknowledge our shortcomings and imperfections. This is perhaps no truer than in recent weeks, as national events have garnered all sorts of opinions and insight from all across mediums and various platforms. Without our freedoms and those who have fought and died to protect them, our say wouldn’t be possible. That notion alone should remind us, too, that our freedom of speech comes with great responsibility. We should utilize it wisely. It’s the least we should do when others have given so much on our behalf.

Let us also be reminded of those who have fought and continue to do so in order to make our way of life possible.

And yes, let us also celebrate our freedoms. As John Adams wrote to his wife Abigail upon the signing of the Declaration of Independence, this day “ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more.”

Happy birthday, America.