The only fireworks I saw this year were on my mom’s shirt.

We had a very quiet 4th, celebrating with mac and cheese, a bottle of wine and a bad movie.

As we were hidden away in the suburbs of rural South Carolina, I thought about all the people out there celebrating with lots of beer, things on fire, and bbq… and I thought about the meaning behind all the celebrating today.

I wondered how many people really are celebrating our independence today… and I wondered just how independent ‘the land of the free and the home of the brave’ is these days.