Who Would Have Thought...

Who would have thought that 234 years ago, a small collection of colonies of the then-superpower, Great Britain, by declaring their independence, could rise to become the most powerful nation in the world. And, in doing so, become a beacon for freedom.

Today is representative of the true meaning and values of a collection of peoples that call themselves Americans. Many of us complain about our life in this country but, many more -- those who haven't been able to walk in our shoes of freedom and liberty -- wish for the very chance to live their lives as we do. To some extent, we have become spoiled and we have forgotten the sacrifices that ultimately took place after we declared our independence.

Freedom does not come freely. It is something we must always safeguard with every breath we take.

On this day of remembrance, we should pledge to cherish all that our founders have given us. While not always a a perfect society, we should always strive to be better. Our guiding light should be that of Lady Liberty in New York harbor who's original title was "Liberty Enlightening the World" and who was originally dedicated to celebrate the 100th year of our independence. As much as possible, we should always lead by "enlightening the world" and not necessarily through our power.

Happy Birthday, America!

Image by Turkinator's photostream on Flickr with Creative Commons Licensing. Some rights retained. (Click to View Other Works).