There is every reason to celebrate July 4th, as it is the birth of a nation, the likes of which has never been seen before on Earth. And while we should all have fun watching those steam tractors lumbering through town during the parade, events these days should also make us pause and reflect on what we are really celebrating on this day.

Freedom. Liberty. Awe-inspiring words. But words that are rapidly losing their meaning. We celebrate our Declaration of Independence on July 4th, but we should also celebrate the Constitution of the United States of America, a document that doesn't grant us our freedoms, but was designed to protect our God-given liberty from government control. Sadly today, many Americans are willing to give up their freedom for false security. What many people forget is that real security is a result of being free to choose. If the passengers on board those flights on September 11th were not barred from individually protecting themselves as a result of government attempts to make us secure, there would have been no attack that day. The terrorists would never have tried, because they know that truly free people can affect the outcome of any outside intervention.

But freedom is hard. Liberty is scary. It requires real, honest work to be free. It is life without a safety net. Our elected officials at the national, state, and local levels have forgotten what the Constitution stands for. Americans have become lazy in exercising their right to vote at every election, and as a result, we get the government we largely deserve. We willingly elect people who we know will try to remove our rights or property in order to protect us from something. Liberals try to elevate the rights of groups over the rights of individuals. Conservatives willingly abrogate the rights of individuals as long as it suits their moral purpose, and try to couch it in the cloak of national security.

America was designed by great thinkers to allow individuals to attain all that they can, without trampling on another individual’s rights. While you are watching the parade this year, reflect on what the true meaning of July 4th should be.

Dave Richard