July 4

"all men are created equal"
"and justice for all'
"of the people, by the people and for the people'

Phrases like these represent the ideals that America measures itself by. They both inspire us and challenge us.  The question is how close do we come to actually reaching them? In my own life as a human being, it is clear that these are things that we instinctively want, but don't seem in our nature deliver. History and contemporary global life affirm this. It takes work, sometimes dangerous and consuming work, to make these ideals real in the world.

Freedom should be a right. But it's usually a gift, one that comes with responsibilities that are not to be taken lightly and not to be squandered.