Dear America, Thanks for the Chance to Get It Right - Eventually.

Today I am aware of and grateful for the freedom of dissent. Seeing all the patriotic July Fourth messages in the media, including protestations of pride and adoration from friends on Facebook, I cannot say I fully share the sentiments. Don't get me wrong; I am happy and grateful to live in the United States, surrounded by beauty and a chance at privilege. I do not take my freedoms for granted.

But I cannot say I am proud and truly loving of my country and its government. First, I am wary of pride that does not recognize the wrongs our ancestors brought upon the native people of North America and the slaves who unwillingly built the economy that enabled our country to thrive. As history gives way to modern times, I cannot love our gaping inequality of means, an inequality that has grown alarmingly wide over the past half century. I am not proud that our people were duped into fighting a war in Iraq under false pretenses. I am not proud that it took several years before we materially supported our troops and veterans of that war. Our national inability to tolerate religious differences, to educate the populace on science and the environment, to ensure every person has health care, to extend freedom of speech and association to the workplace, to allow every adult to choose to marry freely - these are among the weaknesses that must be addressed before I can hold my head up with patriotic fervor among those who hail from other industrialized nations.

Today, however, I will still gladly wave a flag and drink a toast to the United States of America. We have come too far not to continue our journey to become a nation of freedom for all. I will sing and praise the patriots, dissenters, and often-unwilling warriors of days past and present. I am ever grateful that I am living in the time and place where we will have the opportunity to fulfill the expectation of freedom. In short, today I will be corny and celebrate. Let freedom ring!