Freedom is risky but we should choose it every time.

Firecrackers are, at once, a beautiful national tradition and an eloquent metaphor for liberty's inherently dangerous nature.

Freedom is a risky thing and anyone who tells you otherwise is lying. America is not made safer by the mass availability of boos and firecrackers. It's risky to have a population with the freedom to speak or write or worship however it wants. There'd probably be a lot less crime if our law officers didn't have to worry about warrants or other stubborn checks by out rights-based legal system.

But, America chooses freedom over safety every time, and I wouldn't have it any other way. This is not to say there shouldn't be a balance. It's to say liberty is and should remain our top national priority. Because that's what makes America a special place, one that's still worth celebrating despite the fact that we frequently struggle to live up on our highest ideals.

So Happy Firecracker Day, folks! May we rededicate ourselves to preserving the rights we cherish for the next generation. May we resolve to fight for those in our midst who still fall short of the blessings of liberty. And, may we NEVER fear to embrace freedom as our unashamed birth-right as Americans.