Leonard at large 7/2

This week we are celebrating a special national holiday in observance of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, which established our country. This year's celebration will be a little different. In recent months, we have had countrymen fighting for our freedom and the freedom of other -- giving of their lives, making a sacrifice so that freedom continues to ring. We were told a few weeks ago that the fighting in Iraq had ended. Still, there are military personal getting killed or wounded, and the peace has not been fully established. We have freedom, but it comes with a price. From the time this country was established to the present, there have been those who have made this freedom possible. This is a time when we forget our political differences and come together united in celebration of our independence, our freedom, and our country. We take many things for granted, and we forget how we got to where we are. Yet there are many people leaving their homelands to come to our country, because of our freedom and our way of life. We are told that we are vulnerable to another terrorist attack like we had on September 11, 2001. There are people in this world wanting to destroy us, to take the freedom away from us. Since September 11, we realize that we can expect an attack. It's no longer a question of if it is going to happen, but when it is going to happen. We do not know how many terrorist attacks have been stopped because of security efforts taking place. When in school, one subject I did not appreciate is history. Now, I have a greater appreciation for history and the things that have been done to make our way of life possible. Perhaps it is the way history was taught --having to learn dates and such things -- that did not interest me. Now, there are many people in our society that do not have any concept of our country's history. They are not aware of the presidents and leaders having a major role. Many of the people that are not citizens in the United States know more about the history than our own citizens. We need to refresh ourselves on the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. There are those who say that the Constitution is being changed from it original intentions due to the legislature and the court decisions. These documents are special. Paul Harvey tells us that each one of those signing the Declaration of Independence ended up losing their lives or their financial security. Most of these individuals were well off financially when they signed the document. It is my opinion that we need to do more as a country to stop the illegal immigrants in our country. This is a threat to our country. I am not opposed to people moving into our country, if they are legal. I have a major problem with those who are not legal. Most of them are good workers and good people, but many have been proven to be criminals and this is a way to open up to the terrorists. It continues to bother me that many people have made sacrifices for our freedom and our citizens do not take advantage of this freedom by voting at elections. In a little over another month, we will be voting on major issues in this area. Perhaps, because it involves tax issues, there will be more eligible voters voting. Still, there will be a large percent that do not cast their ballots. Be careful with fireworks Last year, a large number of people in the nation were taken to emergency rooms as result of injuries from fireworks. Even sparklers can be extremely dangerous, due to the intense heat. As I think back to the things that I did in my youth, I realize that I am fortunate that I was not injured or that I did not injure someone else. More and more laws are limiting what fireworks are available. For goodness' sake, be careful with those fire works. As a nation, we will be celebrating in many ways this week and weekend, with parades, flying the flag, having picnics, and in other ways. There will be many fireworks displays, including the one at Rich Hill and the one at the fairgrounds put on by the firemen. It is great that these are available for the people in our area. We as a nation have come a long way, since being set free from England. Many things have been done to maintain that freedom. We need to make sure that we are doing our part of keeping our freedom and teaching our youth what this freedom means. With freedom, comes responsibility. Let's have a great celebration this week! Thanks goes to God for making this colebration possible. Happy birthday USA.