In yesterday’s blog post, A 4th of July like no other, I lamented the fact that I do not feel celebratory on this United States Independence Day.
Here are my thoughts on this 4th of July – the 249th birthday of America.
Never take your freedom to read whatever you want to read for granted. People have died to protect that freedom, and there are people and organizations that think they have the right to take that freedom away from you.
Never take your freedom to practice the religion of your choice – or to practice no religion at all – for granted. People have died to protect that freedom, but there are some people who think they can force their warped brand of Christianity on all our citizens.
Never take your freedom of assembly for granted. People have died to protect that freedom, but there are people who want to limit our access to gathering if our ideas don’t align with theirs.
Never take your freedom to complain, grumble, criticize, question, and protest against your elected officials for granted. People have died while protesting and people have died to protect that freedom. If we lose that freedom, we have lost our democracy.
Never take your freedom to vote for granted. People have died to protect that freedom, but there are loud voices in our country today who want to put many hoops for us to jump through in order to vote. They want to make it such a cumbersome process that we will miss a step or just give up. They try to convince us that voter fraud is rampant, but investigations have proven it rarely happens.
Never take the freedom of the press for granted. People have died to protect that freedom. The freedom of the press is under attack by the President Donald J. Trump, by his press secretary Karoline Leavitt, and by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. But they are wrong. The press is not “the enemy of the people!” It is incumbent upon each and every one of us to defend and protect the press. If we lose that precious freedom in the United States, we will most assuredly lose all our other freedoms.
Remember the people of Ukraine and western North Carolina.
Keeping silent is being complicit
Resist!
Rise up!
Speak up!
Speak out!
Get into good trouble!
That’s how Independence Day 2025 needs to be celebrated… while we still can.
Janet
Janet's Writing Blog 
Beautifully expressed Janet, as was yesterday’s post that I did not have a chance to comment on, but I applaud your words. There is truly little to celebrate in the US any more. And you are right, freedom is not free, it cost lives to gain such freedoms that many take for granted and therefore easily lose. They did not sacrifice or fight for it so they do not value it, like they say, easy come, easy go. The approval of congress of this last bill truly makes one sad and rightfully worried.
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Great post, Janet. Happy 4th of July, if that’s possible.
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Well said, Janet.
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Those are good things to remember
Especially now.
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It frightens me. We’re drifting further off course. I can barely comprehend it.
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Thank you, Francis. It’s been a tough, soul-searching couple of days leading up to July 4th. The Big, Beautiful Bill just might be the nail in the coffin.
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Thank you, Pat. I hope you’ve had a good 4th of July. I’m not sick, I haven’t gotten hurt or bitten by anything, so it has been an okay day. The highlight of my day was watching Carole King & James Taylor at the Troubadour that I had recorded from PBS. In fact, I watched it twice. Brought some smiles to my face. I understand my next-door neighbors (Trumpers) plan to do fireworks tonight instead of going to the free huge fireworks display six miles away. Go figure! I guess they have lots to celebrate this week. I’m praying for the doe and her tiny fawn who have paraded through our front yard each of the last two afternoons. I’ll probably never see them again or any of the other wildlife. Fireworks next door will just be the icing on the cake tonight.
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Thank you, Liz. It’s amazing what I can write in the middle of the night when I’m angry!
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Thank you, Vicki. I’m at my wit’s end. Between the pictures of the ICE thugs and that horrendous detention center in the Everglades and all the Republican jokes that came out of there… and then the Big, Beautiful Bill…. I don’t know how many more weeks like this we can take.
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How sad. We have some neighborhood assholes who wait until after Midnight to light off some fireworks. 9-10 is late enough.
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I’m afraid we’re so far off course we will never be able to find our way back, Matroos. Instead of such a joyous day as always in the past, today has been a day of mourning for many of us. I’m afraid the 4th of July will forever just be a sad reminder of everything we’ve lost.
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Oh great! I don’t know what time our neighbors will start. Having grandchildren as young as three, I’m hoping for an early start and an early finish.
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It’s a truly saddening and frightening situation… but we all must keep the faith and never lose hope. Have a great weekend Janet. I finally got away from the heat wave in Western Europe and now feel the refreshing winds of the Aegean Sea. All the best!
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You’re welcome, Janet.
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A powerful post, Janet. I didn’t celebrate yesterday, but like you, took the time to think about what it means to be free in America and how those freedoms are being threatened. Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness are not free and if we don’t fight for them (for all of us), we will lose them. Thank you for being a patriot.
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Good for you! Enjoy every day while you’re there.
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Thank you, Diana. And thank you for being a patriot, too! I’m trying to remember that half the country voted for Harris. I just don’t seem to know very many of them.
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Thank you so much Janet! All the best!
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I live in a blue state, so I know a lot of Harris voters. We were devastated that she lost, because we knew without a doubt what was ahead. The red states are now starting to find out what their votes cost them, and I fear it’s going to get a whole lot worse.
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I live in NC. We elected a Democrat Governor and Lt. Governor but the state went with Trump. Go figure! We’ve done that before, though, a number of times in recent years. The county I live in was solid blue when I was growing up, now I can count the Dems I know on one hand. Tragic turn of events.
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I don’t understand it. Unfortunately, we’re all going to have to deal with this. I’m angry about that, I’ll admit. And really sad too.
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Angry and sad sums it up for me, too. We’ll all just have to do the best we can. I just didn’t see this coming until a few years ago. Never thought it would happen in America. Take care.
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