All the years of preparation for this year’s upcoming special Fourth of July come to a climax in the next few weeks. Our area will well and truly celebrate the 250th anniversary of the nation. There are cynics who will say, “What’s the big deal.” There are the dividers, who say that one side or the other is destroying our unity. Yes … and those people are always there. They have the right to their opinion. And there are the Americans who, in spite of it all, know there is good reason to celebrate. We can celebrate that we are free people, free to speak and write, to assemble in protest or support, to worship or not as we desire. We know that if we fall afoul of the law, the government must prove our guilt; we don’t have to prove our innocence. We are free to live our lives without heavy interference from the authorities. We have rights, we have a history of fighting for those rights, and we know the nation, however frustratingly and jerkily, is generally always moving toward “a more pe...