Independence

Hello and happy Independence Day!

On days like to day I like to think about how glad I am to have been born here in the United States of America. I like to put aside all my qualms about our government and the fact that men and women still aren’t paid equally and instead focus on the parts of our country that make it great.

Freedom of religion. Sure, there’s a lot of tension between different religious groups and a lot of argument around the separation of church and state, but nobody in the U.S. will every be sentenced to death for apostasy. We are allowed to grow and flourish and question and expand our horizons beyond a narrow and set perspective. Religion as a personal choice causes nowhere near so many problems as religion as a state mandate.

Freedom of speech. Without freedom of speech, I wouldn’t have this blog, I’d be too afraid of misspeaking, of being punished for my words. True, freedom of speech means that people can say almost anything they want even if it’s stupid or hurtful, but at least they have that right.

I’m not the most patriotic person in the world. I don’t believe that America is the world’s greatest country, I think every country has its good side and its bad. And in spite of all the bad – the pigheaded refusal to do something serious about gun control even after so much tragedy; the crusade against women’s reproductive rights; an unlivable minimum wage – at least we can have an open conversation about those problems without fear of being labeled dissenters and being thrown in jail for expressing out opinions and for that more than anything I am thankful.

Happy 4th of July everyone!

Thank you for reading.