Sun Editorial: This Fourth of July we Americans are fortunate

From all of us at Elauwit Media to all of our loyal readers, we wish you the happiest and healthiest Fourth of July.

As rough as things may be at times in our country — our economy is still recovering, race is still an issue, and the Phillies can’t seem to win a baseball game anymore — things could be a lot worse for us.

A quick glance at the world around us reveals just how fortunate we are, as Americans, to have the freedoms we do. And let’s face it, these freedoms we often take for granted.

Imagine, for just a moment, what it must be like to live in Syria.

Imagine what it must be like to live in Iraq.

Imagine what it must be like to live in Egypt, where there’s still instability and a lack of confidence in the nation’s parliament.

We live in a nation where, despite our differences, we manage to co-exist peacefully for the most part.

We live in a nation where our Congress and where the office of the president have functioned and survived for 239 years.

We live in a nation where, for the most part, we’re free to do as we please.

This simply isn’t the case in many corners of the world.

This holiday weekend we give thanks for the liberties won for us hundreds of years ago.

We give thanks for the many women and men who have made incredible sacrifices to protect these freedoms in battle in Afghanistan and Iraq — and countless other places abroad.

We remember their families who, like they, have also made sacrifices by saying goodbye so we can do things as simple as having a barbecue sometime this weekend.

Finally, we give thanks for all that America is and stands for. It may not be perfect, but a quick glance of the news shows: life could be much worse.