Categories: Commentary, Political

It's Independence Day. This holiday is very specific to the United States of America, but it really should be celebrated all over the world. Independence Day is about more than just our independence from Britain. It's about freedom. Independence from any particular nation is irrelevant when you've got freedom. Had the British been treating us fairly and equally, allowing us the freedom to do as we please, our independence from them would not have been necessary.

The reason I bring this up is because it applies to many countries the world over. Most countries do not have the size or manpower to either gain their independence or keep it once they have it. It is for this reason it is necessary for America to intervene in the matters of other countries. We have the power to free the world. Unfortunately there are those, in this country and around the world, who would choose to have us do nothing, and then complain when we stand idle as mass genocides take place.

Currently, we're trying to bring freedom to the people of Iraq. Our original purpose for going over there was to find and dispose of WMDs, which turned out to be non-existent or possibly extremely well hidden. Regardless, WMDs are no longer our goal. However, our plan was never to go over there, destroy the WMDs, oust Saddam and then leave. Bringing freedom to these people was always part of the plan. Another part was to give them independence. Unfortunately, I don't believe that is possible. If we fail to keep Iraq under our watch, it will quickly become what it once was, only much, much worse. If we leave and allow dictators to gain control of the country, resentment of the United States will become stronger than it has ever been. If there were no WMDs before, there certainly will be in the future, and they will be aimed squarely at us. It is for this reason I believe we should make Iraq a permanent part of the United States. We should offer them not independence as a country, but independence from the dictators and thugs who would seek to control the country and its people. As a part of the United States, they would gain something far more important than independence: freedom.

As you celebrate this Independence Day, be thankful for the freedom you've got, but don't be so stingy as to deny that freedom to the rest of the world. Independence Day is not just about drinking, partying, fireworks, and kicking British ass, although those things are certainly important, too.

Freedom isn't free, it costs folks like you and me. And if you don't throw in your buck oh five, who will?