As someone who was born and grew up in a different country (Denmark) but has lived in the US of A since 1981, what I have observed over the years is that ideals like "Independence," and "Freedom" and "Rights" mean such amazingly different things to different people.

In this country, you can have two people stand shoulder to shoulder, insisting they both want "freedom," and in the next moment they are in a fight over their individual interpretations of freedom.

So, it is Independence Day. What exactly are we asking for Independence from?