You know.  In the first Spiderman Movie, the one with geek-boy Toby McGuire and Kirsten Dunst…. there is a great line.

Uncle Ben says it to Peter Parker.

“With Power comes great Responsibility.”  I have quoted it here before.  It is so dang true.

With power comes great responsibility.

Here we are, on the 4th of July.  We celebrate freedom today. Freedom, and Independence are quite powerful indeed.  The United States of America.  Land of the Brave.  Home of the Free.  I wish the next line rang out….

“These are powerful gifts.  Act responsibly.”

I don’t think a lot of Americans really, really, understand freedom.  It gets lost in translation.  It morphs into this “sense of entitlement.”

We are not “entitled” to anything in this life.  Not really.  Any thing can be snatched away at any given moment.

And Rights…  Rights are to be cherished…I think.  And nurtured.  Again, just because we have a “Right”…. doesn’t really mean we can do as we damn well please.

The Bill of Rights is the collective name for the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution. These limitations serve to protect the natural rights of liberty and property.

Yet.  We must have respect and consideration for others.  What I consider my “right”… may be an infringement of  yours.  Hence.  It requires great balance and communication.

If we want it to work.  That is.

So, on this day, we celebrate our Freedom.   Let’s take good care of it.  Share it well.  Live, and let live.  Perhaps it would be good for us be a shining light, an example for others to follow.

“Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves.”
― Abraham Lincoln