Here’s to you and yours, may you enjoy a Happy Independence Day.  Don’t forget to think a bit, maybe even talk with some friends about what independence, freedom, and liberty mean to you and what it costs to maintain.

What does the 4th of July mean to me?  Well, it means liberty.  Liberty is something that many people seem bound and determined to confuse with libertine these days.  However, liberty, as I see it, is the freedom to live life without fear of government intervention, to be free to follow your own career, and to be free to pursue your own slice of happiness.  This is, in no uncertain terms, something that many men and women have died in protecting for the rest of us here in the United States.  As Thomas Jefferson said, “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is it’s natural manure.”

July 4th also means apple pie, steak, cold beer, and fireworks.  This weekend, it also means spending the time with my newborn, my wife, and trying to catch up on some sleep.  For the rest of you out there, have a great weekend, but don’t forget those who gave all for you and yours to enjoy that nice summer day.