Most people only know it as the Fourth of July.  A day for picnics, flag waving parades, and fireworks. When I grew up most people referred to it as Independence Day and I wish we would still call it that today and not the Fourth of July.

Independence Day says what the day is .  The Fourth of July is just one of 31 days in the month.  It tells us nothing about what the day is all about. This country fought for it's independence from England and it is that independence that makes us the most envied country in the world. I wonder just how many Americans actually think about our independence when they shoot off their fireworks. I suspect it is very few.

It's our freedoms that we take for granted that we will miss when we don't have them anymore.  A friend of mine sent me this the other day and I wanted to share it:  It says:

If the heat gets to you today, just remember it is not 120 degrees.  We are not 5700 miles from home. We are not dressed in full uniform. We are not carrying 70+ pounds of gear. And there is little chance we will drive over a bomb today.

So when you fire off those fireworks remember we are independent because we have people protecting us while we celebrate Independence Day or is it the Fourth of July?

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