Happy Fourth of July!!!

     Happy Fourth of July!!! Independence Day is one of my favorite holidays for two reasons the first is I love fireworks and I look forward to them every year.  Fireworks are the saving grace for summer.  Did I mention I'm not real fond of hot weather?  And the second is that I am a flag waving, red-blooded, proud to be an American, American girl.
     I love this country with all my heart.  I know it is not fashionable to be a proud American for many people today, to them I say, why don't you go and spend a few months in Afghanistan  or Sierra Leone and see how you feel about America.  It's the greatest place in the world.
     Are we perfect, no. We have had periods of time with social injustice, but given some time we tend to come around and try to right the wrongs.  We tend to stand up for the little guy, and to root for the underdog, that's the American way, we love to see the small man come out on top.  We still believe it is the land of opportunity for someone who wants to work hard. 
     The principles and ideas on which this country was founded by our forefathers still ring true to most of us today.
     "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."  This is the preamble of the United Stated Constitution and it is still as meaningful today as it was then.
     I am aware that the price for freedom is not free and that since the beginning of our country many men and women have sacrificed their lives so that we can hold onto the dream for ourselves and our children.  Keep this is mind today as you enjoy your bar-b-q's and your fireworks.  And remember that we have to hold sacred these things so they will be available for our posterity. What we don't value we are not worthy to hold.