4th of July

Since I was alone on the 4th of July I decided to go hiking into the wilderness. I will blog about that when I get the pictures developed. While I was up there I was thinking about our freedoms. In the movie "The hunt for Red October" there is a scene where Captain Ramius (Sean Connery) is talking with Vasili Borodin (Sam Neil) about what they are going to do when they get to America. The exchange goes as follows:

Capt. Vasili Borodin: I will live in Montana. And I will marry a round American woman and raise rabbits, and she will cook them for me. And I will have a pickup truck... maybe even a "recreational vehicle." And drive from state to state. Do they let you do that?
Captain Ramius: I suppose.
Capt. Vasili Borodin: No papers?
Captain Ramius: No papers, state to state.
Capt. Vasili Borodin: Well then, in winter I will live in... Arizona. Actually, I think I will need two wives.
Captain Ramius: Oh, at least.

With the exception of the 2 wives things they were seeing a great truth. In America we are free to go and do as we please. I was off traipsing through the wilderness with a back pack and fishing pole. I did not have to get a pass of a permit to do what I wanted to do. Others were grilling burgers or going swimming. Each person free to do as he or she pleased. As I sat out there and pondered on this I realized that often times we do not realize how free we are in this country. Within reason we are free to pursue happiness any way we want. It is true many paths we take do not lead to happiness but we are free to pursue it none the less. When I hear people talking about how bad America is for getting involved in other countries affairs I think about this freedom we love so much. We do not make people be like us we actually give them the ability to choose to be what makes them happy.

Anyway that is what I was thinking this 4th of July weekend. Hope you all found some happiness this weekend wherever you were.