July 4th

"Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves."
Abraham Lincoln

As we approach America's Birthday of 2014, I am reminded of the quote by James Blaine, "The United States is the only country with a known birthday". My wife and I will spend it as we do every year, with a full house at Smith Mountain Lake in southern Virginia. Our home will be draped in Red, White, and Blue with two American flags waiving proudly off the deck (one shown here), streaming banners, and more. The fourth of July here looks like a Norman Rockwell portrait with neighboring lake front lawns filled with multiple generations of families cooking on the grill, gathering together, and preparing to enjoy the fireworks from the several marinas that light the skies over the lake after dark.

Dick Cheney once said, "It is easy to take liberty for granted, when you have never had it taken from you."

I think he has this wrong. Most Americans that the former Vice President talks about have not had freedom truly taken from them, yet our celebration clearly reflects that we do not take this for granted. This type of hyperbole may be the method to emote feelings of guilt for not taking an action that some may disagree with, but I believe that every American that argues loudly about things that they believe are right or wrong in this country is a reflection of what makes this country great.

Bill Clinton said, "There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured by what is right with America."

Today we can watch newsmakers on some of the more colorful "news" channels argue who is more, or less, "American".

I thank then-Presidential candidate John McCain as he said it best when he interrupted an attack on President Obama during a town hall in which a woman was accusing him of many things including convicting him of being a "Arab". “No, ma’am,” McCain replied. “He’s a decent family man, citizen, that I just happen to have disagreements with on fundamental issues, and that’s what this campaign is all about.”

I admit to being one with more progressive views, especially on social issues, yet with fairly conservative fiscal views. I may not agree with every reader of this post – likely some, but not all – but like all my friends here at Smith Mountain Lake this July 4th, on America's birthday I will celebrate the same thing we all share: The freedom to object to government and to vote for who I want, and to live my life as I please as long as I don't infringe on the rights of others, no matter what religion, race, or sexual orientation. It's all about the red, white, and blue, like our US Soccer Team showed us this past week.

On this July 4th we have a murdering terrorist army invading Iraq and Syria, thousands of threatened children and mothers fleeing from drug cartels into the US from the southern border, starvation and civil war killing so many in places like Nigeria, the boys murdered from Israel, a land of complete oppression in North Korea, young women being oppressed and abused around the globe (including ours) and so much more.

But for those of us who live here – we get it, even though we may scream at each other from time to time on issues we respectively care deeply about. I sit here on this July 3rd, excited to have new guests arriving tomorrow to join in this celebration of our nations birthday. And I will cheer with many friends nearby who may agree or disagree with my political views but hopefully share with me the same thankfulness that we can debate, argue, and protest freely.

And for those who fought to make this happen for us, we thank you. That goes beyond the military – it includes civil rights workers of the 1960's, suffragists, fair labor rights lawyers, and all those whom President Lincoln referred to in his statement about not denying freedom to anyone.

Happy 4th