Has anyone noticed that Hillary Clinton has not fled the United States? That supporters of Mitt Romney have not been killed and assaulted by people loyal to John McCain? That sort of thing happens in Zimbabwe.

Has anyone noticed that despite widespread flooding in the Midwest, we have had far fewer deaths than Myanmar (also known as Burma) had following a series of storms there? And that our government has not kept people out of the area so the world doesn't know what's going on?

Isn't it great that we still have a free and independent press that doesn't have to worry about a government takeover for daring to criticize those in power (see Russia)?

It's easy to look at our problems here in the United States and think the world is ending, but we need to step back, look at the rest of the world and appreciate how good we have it here. Despite the rantings of the professional commentariat and those whose interests lie in making us loathe people on the other side of the political fence, we have it pretty good here in the USA.

We can speak our minds. We can worship as we please. We can own a gun. We have the right to a trial by a jury of our peers.

For all that and more, we can thank 56 brave men who 232 years ago (give or take a few days; see the George Will column below) signed the Declaration of Independence, setting in motion the creation of a nation of a kind not seen before.

We'll have parades and fireworks to celebrate our national birthday and our freedom. Thanks to the three-day weekend this holiday gives us, we'll gather with family and friends for food and fun.

Meanwhile, there are people overseas in the armed forces, in government civil service, in private enterprise, in charity work and in individual efforts to bring these freedoms to other people.

As Thomas Jefferson wrote,

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. -- That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, -- That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness."

Those are the words upon which our nation and our freedoms are based. They have served us well for 232 years, and, we expect, for many, many more as long as we continue to live by them.

Happy birthday, America.

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Lori Wolfe/The Herald-Dispatch

Parades, fireworks and other celebrations will mark the 232nd anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

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