Happy Fourth of July

Happy Fourth of July.

Have fun doing whatever it is you do on this holiday. Enjoy some fireworks, some outdoor grilling along with a few brews, take in a parade or however you want to spend our nation’s birthday.

While you’re enjoying the festivities, hoist a brew in honor of the men and women in uniform who may not be at home with family this July 4^th. Don’t worry about all the politics involved, just know that they are duty-bound to serve this great country of ours and they do it with distinction.

Thanks to the ancient Greeks who gave this world a taste of democracy, and to the Romans who followed that up by briefly forming a republic. We took a lot from their examples to get where we are today. Thanks to English common law which helped to set Western civilization on the path to rule by law, not by men; and to the European philosophers during the Age of Enlightenment who expanded on that concept influencing our own Founding Fathers. Thanks to George Washington who had the moral courage and foresight to stand down his army and refuse to be a king once he won the American Revolution, a moment the world had rarely seen before. Props to Abraham Lincoln who shepherded this nation through one of its most trying times to make sure that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

It’s taken a lot of work by a lot of people to keep this country intact and moving forward and the road is never an easy one. As imperfect as this nation is, it still strives to realize its highest ideals. So forget about political parties and political philosophies for a day and celebrate the abstract ideals set forth so long ago.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Word.

This is an open thread for the holiday. Feel free to discuss the Cowboys or the July 4^th holiday. (But woe unto thee that turns this thread into a contemporary political argument. That ain’t happening.)