Happy Independence Day

This day is not about prosaic ideas of "freedom" or "the right to bear arms" or whatever.

This day is about celebrating the incredible achievement of our countries founding fathers.

It's also a day that has been so cheapened and commercialized that the real spirit is completely lost on the masses. It makes me a little sad.

It's a day so cheapened that many businesses don't even bother to close. So cheapened that many people just celebrate it as a great excuse to drink beer and watch some fireworks. So cheapened that many people don't even know why we celebrate on July 4th. (proven by a Jay Leno "on the street" segment I saw a couple of years ago.)

I don't mind working on this day, don't get me wrong. What I do have a problem with is how the focus is no longer on the accomplishment of our forefathers. What they did was so incredible and had never been done in history before. What was simply an uprising of a british colony ended as an inspirational event that shocked the world and led the way for more human rights and freedom for people all over. What our founding fathers did was create a country where you could speak your mind, live your life how you chose, and didn't have to worry about being thrown in the dungeon or shipped to another continent just for going to a different church than the government.

If we aren't careful, those things that our founding fathers risked their lives, and the lives of their families, for will be washed down the drain. Our current government walks all over those ideals wantonly and sadly, in the name of religion. Something our founding fathers would NEVER have wanted.

So today, remember that you stand where you stand, believing ANYTHING your heart desires without fearing for your life or the life of your family because a handful of men wanted a country where religion and government were separate.