By Terry C. Misfeldt

The Fourth of July is marked in the United States of America as Independence Day. It is intended to be a celebration of our country’s freedom from the once-tyrannical rule of Great Britain when our nation was a colony of the British Empire.

Our independence was earned by those who fought in the Revolutionary War and our founding fathers who created our nation’s Constitution.

As President Ronald W. Reagan said: “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it along to our children in our bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States when men were free.”

Writers, especially those of us who live in the United States, have the freedom to write what we want without fear of retribution…provided what we write is not libelous. It is also our duty to do our research and provide credit where credit is due when quoting from another work or copyrighted material. Permission should be obtained for the copyright material, too. In other words, independence is something to be earned.

Even though we have the privilege of independence in America, it is not something to be taken for granted. Like trust, it must be earned.

Enjoy the Fourth of July! Remember that freedom is not free, either. It must be earned like a child wanting to drive your car.