Freedom and why we should celebrate it!

First, I know I have been lax the last few weeks, but slowly attempting to get back into the swing of things. Thank you for all the kind words, the support, and encouragement. Seems like every time I convince myself this show is a waste of time, you all pop up out of nowhere to remind me why I do it. Thank you for that.

This week I feel it is only right to reflect on why this holiday is so important to proudly celebrate Independence Day. I could give you the history of how we became such a great republic, or why millions had shed blood, and more gladly sacrificed their lives to defend our way of life, but you already know that.

For me, celebrating Independence Day is important because we live in a country where we each can choose to work in a field we love, in my case, over the past two decades, I have been in, on, and keeping radio stations on the air. As one of my best friends reminded me recently, I am lucky that I have been able to stay in radio, and be successful in so many aspects of this profession. Many of the people I look up to, and was lucky enough to be taken under their wing to be shown the ropes, have been forced to change careers, or just retire.

We live in a place where you can print a story about one of the highest ranking officers in our country, even if it is the truth, mouthing off about his boss, and live to make it onto the news cycle to talk about it. There are many places on this planet, you would be found dead with your tongue ripped out. There are others you would never be seen or heard from again.

We live in a place where we freely debate just about any topic, can speak our mind, debate the pros and cons of every issue, then agree to disagree without anyone getting beat up, injured or killed. The only possible exception is if you are crazy enough to do this drunk, high, or otherwise wasted, or debate a drunk, junkie, or addict while wasted.

We should all be proud that we live in a place where you can freely tell the government they are screwing up, tell them how we want it fixed, and we have a means to affect the course correction we asked for if not followed. This process has been used for decades to get us things some take for granted today, like civil rights, the right for women, slaves, and the everyday person to vote. The voting booth has power, and we have a right to exercise that power to get America on the correct path again. I predict this November, the last laugh will be on the people that made the choice to belittle, mock, tease, and attempt to dismiss the call for course correction that has been called the TEA PARTY MOVEMENT. It has become clear that the wrong choice was made by the people trying to dismiss this growing nationwide furor as a fluke, and instead of making it go away, it has only grown stronger with every Madcow utterance of "teabaggers" with that smug I am so smart you'll never get that smirk.

We all have reasons to celebrate this Sunday, and if you can't find one, I'll give you a couple of generic ones to tide you by. Celebrate this Sunday in honor of the veterans and active duty military that have bled, been disabled, and yes, gave their life do you can sit in that lounger, look up in the sky, and see those beautiful fireworks overhead this Sunday Night. Take time to be grateful that we are in this great country where we are free to speak our mind, live as we see fit, and work in the professions we choose. Finally, celebrate the fact you have a choice to be who you are, and the resources to help you be whoever you decide to become because you live here, in the United Sates of America.

God bless you, your family, and may your holiday be a great one. Hope you will join us either live Sunday on Blog Talk Radio, or catch the show on demand.

Joey