Happy Independence Day! I wish you a day of rest & relaxation, good food, good friends and a good appreciation for your good fortune to be an American today.

Independence is quite a concept. Webster’s defines independence as “œthe quality or state of being independent”. As Americans, we understand it to be much more. We equate independence with freedom - freedom from tyranny, freedom from oppression, freedom to do and be what we want to be. We love our freedom. So much, in fact, that we want everyone else on the planet to share in it. And (almost) everyone else on the planet wants it, too. That’s why they keep coming here.

I am still stunned when I encounter an individual that feels we are the bad guys, who truly believes that their personal image of themselves is directly related to the image of America. The left-wing media would have you believe we are totalitarian imperialists, as if spreading capitalism and democracy across the globe would be a bad thing. At least our philosophy does not include the annihilation of our opposition ““ give us some credit for that.

What these crybaby Liberals fail to understand is that a good life here enables us to reach out and share the wealth with the less fortunate of the world. If we weren’t so prosperous, who would send millions of tons of food to the starving? If the US wasn’t so rich, could we send aircraft carriers to rescue tsunami victims on the other side of the world? What if we stop building aircraft carriers? And so what if the economy here is on a downturn. Did you eat today? Will you eat tomorrow? Stop whining about the cost of your grande latte and go donate $5 to the local food bank instead. Worried some geek at the Pentagon is watching your myspace page? Then make sure you don’t put up anything stupid. Concerned about the illegal alien at the 7-Eleven looking for a day’s work? Be more worried about the unemployed American whose living off his meager unemployment benefits and your tax dollars.

With all that is right in America ““ free education, excellent health care, plenty of food, water and housing, churches, public green space, doggy daycare ““ why can’t the media find anything good to say about us? Why do Liberals persist in their campaign of disparagement against the average American? When you wake up in the morning, do you plot how you can take over the world? Are you figuring out a new way to screw the “˜little guy’? No, most of us go through the day focused on our own existence, our own struggles, our own triumphs. And we give whatever is left over, be it time, money or service, to someone less fortunate, so that they can improve their situation.

It’s always been this way in America and we’ve never needed a government to direct us. We come by it naturally, this fundamental belief that when you do well, you pass it on. It is how our nation was formed ““ out of nothing, something fantastic. The fight for independence and the attainment of personal freedom for all comes at a high cost but is always worth it. And this philosophy, this dream, still abounds today ““ in some of the most destitute places on the planet. If it is so easy for the least fortunate of the world to understand, why are we having so much trouble believing it’s true?

We discovered this photo here.

U.S. Army Task Force Regulators 1st Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment Staff Sgt. Fred Hampton, of Lexington, Ky., kneels on a knee to talk with a young Iraqi boy at the future site of Regular 6 Park in the Thawra 1 section of the Sadr City District of Baghdad on June 20. Photo: Tech Sgt. Cohen Young, Joint Combat Camera Center Iraq.

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