A few days ago a woman came into the Weekly Calistogan office invoking the name of “Lady Liberty.”

For about a quarter hour she talked about the need to celebrate being American and that got us to thinking. Why not?

We celebrate being Giants fans — or at least some of us do. We celebrate being fans of the Calistoga Wildcats football team, and we’re fans of certain comedians, sports champs, public speakers, politicians, movie stars and much more. So, perhaps it’s just too much to celebrate simply being American.

Wrong!

This 233-year-old nation has come a long way since its creation, and it has brought the rest of the world with it. This phenomenon of growth, which hasn’t been pulled off by or matched by any other nation regardless of age, can largely be attributed to one great factor, the fact that Americans are arguably the most free people on the world.

And with the freedom our nation’s founders granted their future generations came the freedom to become the best we can be; to compete against each other or work together to create the best of anything we could imagine, whether it be cars, food, wine, technology, literature — name it and Americans, native and naturalized, have created or improved it.

That is the freedom hidden behind the great promises of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution.

Like any adolescent, a young nation makes mistakes, and this government by the people has made plenty of mistakes, but even today, when many militant nations are finding much of American life offensive, America is still a great magnet for hope.

Even in California, as we watch our elected officials struggle to live within their means — and ours — by promising greater taxation and making painful spending cuts, America is still the greatest nation on the planet in terms of personal freedom.

It’s OK to celebrate being American. It’s your gift, paid for by the sacrifices of our grandparents, no matter who you are — the sons and daughters of European ancestors, Africans and even the much-oppressed Native Americans — the nation’s promise of freedom is yours.

Be thankful. Celebrate America!

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