Fireworks, festivals and family fun are all staples for Americans as we celebrate the 4th of July, our Independence Day. Of course, nothing is more American to me than being out on the lake enjoying fishing or tubing, or having a big ol’ cookout with family and friends. Then what can be better than topping the long, hot day off by making some cold, homemade ice cream and watching fireworks explode overhead. With all the beautiful parks and places Oklahoma has to offer and with so many ways to celebrate our freedoms as Americans, I wonder how many of us stop to truly appreciate everything. Do we realize the true price for freedom and what has been done to pave that path that we often take for granted? Do we truly let freedom ring?

Many men and women have fought for our freedoms and even died for that liberty. Others have sacrificed mental anguish and even limbs so we can exercise our freedoms. So, if we want to really understand what makes America, in my opinion, the greatest country to live in, then we should strive to truly understand our freedoms.

First of all, what is freedom? Freedom is defined as the power or right to act, speak or think as one wants without fear of hindrance or restraint. This concept is recognized in our Declaration of Independence as inalienable rights. The First Amendment introduced the word freedom to the Constitution. Then the 14thAmendment added the word equal.

Former President Roosevelt delivered a State of the Union address in which he outlined the four fundamental freedoms we all have as Americans: Freedom of speech and expression, Freedom of worship, Freedom from fear and Freedom from want. He gave hope to war-weary people that the freedom they were fighting for was worth the highest cost – the cost of the lives of their fathers, their brothers, and their children. I wonder how well we understand that cost today.

There are seven pillars of freedom that hold America to a higher standard than other countries. They are Freedom of conscience, Freedom of expression, Freedom of speech, Freedom of assembly, Freedom of association, Freedom of the press and the Freedom to protest.

It’s funny how many of these rights and freedoms were stepped on during the COVID-19 lockdown when the government forced people to stay home and to take vaccinations to keep their jobs. Isn’t it ironic that we think we have freedom from fear (or retaliation) yet only two years ago we weren’t so sure about our future and what it held or who controlled it.

That’s why I believe in a higher freedom that I have from a higher power. For I know that I cannot just declare my freedom but I must be able to exercise that same freedom. A freedom that cannot be exercised is no freedom at all. So knowing who I am, and also knowing who I may become is not for anyone else to decide but me.

Freedom allows us to choose our actions and that we aren’t bound by a predetermined plan for our lives. God gives us the freedom to decide our own destiny. How great a love God has for us that He sent His Only Son, while we were yet sinners, to die for us so we could have that free choice!

So I don’t want to take for granted the freedoms I have today because so many have paid the price for my freedom. I want to celebrate those freedoms with my family and my friends. I want to proclaim to others that they too can be free and can live a life that declares this freedom not just today but forever. Then we too can rise up like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and declare justice in America and say “I have a dream that ALL of God’s children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” I pray that we realize we are only really free when we are free not just physically but spiritually. Then we can stand up and say “Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty we are finally free at last!”

Let freedom ring.