On this Fourth of July, when the United States celebrates their independence as a country, we look towards those who came before that made everything possible. We also give a warm thank you to those men and women who are currently fighting to maintain our freedoms.
　　While this day at times has appeared as though it is just another excuse to have a cook out and to drink. We do pause as we watch a parade, see flags flying or hear “The Star Spangled Banner” play as fireworks are shot into the sky, and we realize a bit of the sacrifices that were laid down for us.
　　We will never truly understand all that was done for us. The sacrifices that have been made in the past and even in the present. We will never know their reasons for giving of themselves and why they made the choices they did.
　　I often wonder what the Founding Fathers dreamed of; what their vision of freedom was like. Not their political thoughts and beliefs that formed the basis of our freedoms but rather, when they closed their eyes and imagined a better world, what did they see? I would think that their true vision of freedom is a lot like what we have now a days. They only wanted to be happy. They wanted young families out enjoying their lives without the threat of a tyrannical government that they would live in fear of.
　　The same goes for soldiers who have fought for our freedoms in the past and present. They have many reasons for joining the military but ultimately, they are fighting or have fought for our freedom.
　　So when you are watching a parade, open a beer or hear our national anthem and see a flag wave in the breeze, pause a second and give thanks for everyone who had a dream of freedom, so that you may enjoy it on this day.
　　

So how do you give thanks?