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America has successfully celebrated another Independence Day. I could be corrected in my calculation, but I believe every American celebrated this great holiday in some fashion, with barbecues aplenty along with many firework displays. All government offices, banks and many businesses were closed in observance of this holiday.

One thing about Independence Day is that it is a great American holiday of which few people object to.

Americans, overall, love to celebrate ... anything. And I don't know anybody who did not join in the celebration of Independence Day. It's not a right or left celebration. It's not a Republican or Democrat celebration. It's not a conservative or liberal celebration. It's an American celebration.

Independence Day is not like other holidays such as Christmas or Easter, which are religious holidays engendering all kinds of emotional responses for and against. Every year we seem to have what some call the 'Christmas battle.' Some people believe in Christmas, others do not. Some people celebrate Christmas, others do not. Unfortunately, the ones who do not celebrate Christmas are the ones offended by those who do celebrate Christmas.

Go figure. I guess the old Ebenezer Scrooge still haunts the land.

But Independence Day is different. It is a celebration of our American freedoms. We may disagree on what those freedoms are from time to time but no American disagrees with the fact that this country is the land of the free. Whether it is the land of the brave, only future historians will be able to tell us that.

America is in a great struggle now, concerning illegal immigration. Thinking about this I am wondering if Native Americans are not rethinking the leniency of their immigration policy way back when. They did not have a good policy and look what happened to them.

Our good old American philosophy is, 'I may not agree with what you say, but I'll fight to the death for your right to say it.'

Some people might not think this is a great country. If that is true, why does everybody in the world want to come here? Maybe I am missing something, but I do not see a mad immigration rush to China n or, for that matter, to Russia or any other country in the world.

In many countries, the epitome of success is immigrating to America. That is the one goal they work for all their life. If they cannot go, they do everything in their power to make sure their children can go to America, so they can experience the American dream n to become whatever they want to become.

The big problem we are having with immigration only proves how great our country is. We may not all agree on the solution to this problem, but recognizing this problem only proves what a great nation we are.

The greatness of our country is also seen in the fact that all our politicians have failed in destroying our country. My take on these politicians is, how can so few cause so much trouble for so many people? And the crazy part of it is, the American people vote these politicians in office knowing full well how bad they are going to screw up our country once they get in office.

If elected politicians were half as smart as running-for-election-politicians, we would not have all the problems in our country. I think when a politician is sworn into office something happens. I'm not sure what happens, but I think it has to do with frying brain cells. After all, the word 'elected' sort of resembles 'electrocuted.'

The statesmen of yesterday have faded away, only to be replaced by self-serving politicians who cannot think beyond the next election. If the electorate was smart, it will insist on passing a law forbidding any politician to run for reelection. The moment thoughts of reelection come to mind that politician would be sent to a rehab center until those thoughts faded away. Personally, I would insist on a three strikes and you're out policy.

Although all Americans celebrate Independence Day, many have forgotten the tremendous sacrifice making it possible. Looking back over our history, we can see that there have been a few Americans who have sacrificed for the benefit of all Americans. Some of those few have given the ultimate sacrifice.

I may not like war, and the consequences involved in war, but I realize it is the foundation of our Independence Day. Freedom never comes cheap. Maintaining that freedom is the costliest thing a nation can do, often sacrificing the lives of its best citizens. From the Revolutionary War all the way to present day, our American freedom has been a constant struggle and battle.

All Americans today and tomorrow are the beneficiaries of the sacrifice of 'the few.'

Our spiritual freedom is also the result of the suffering and sacrifice of the one for the many. 'For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.' (Romans 5:15 KJV.)

Because of this, the apostle Paul could say, 'Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.' (Galatians 5:1 KJV.)

All freedom, national and religious, comes with a price ' vigilance. Negligence always ends in bondage.

Let us thank 'the few' for our national liberty and 'the One' for our spiritual liberty. The two go hand-in-hand.