The Fourth of July.  From amazing sunsets to barbecue, and a personal favorite of mine, fireworks, it’s a very special holiday, and one where we need to remember what exactly what we are celebrating.

We are celebrating a group of people who were willing to sacrifice anything and everything they had to throw off the yoke of tyranny.Because of it America has been, for years, a beacon of hope, liberty, and justice in the world. 

Yes, we have at times done some pretty shady things, but that’s the price of living in a broken world.

America may not be perfect but it still stands for the same ideals and principals it was founded upon 233 years ago.

One of my favorite quotes from Patrick Henry, a man who was serious about his liberty “Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!”

– Justan Spaid is a sophomore in history from McCallisburg