Happy Independence Day!

Even the weather was playing nice for the holiday! I hope everyone got outside and celebrated the good ol' USA with friends, family, and lots of food. I was on Staten Island, performing with the USO Liberty Bells in a parade and show. I eventually escaped to Long Island to relax with friends, where I shocked even myself by winning a game of "horse" against two fellas in my third interaction with a basketball since grade school.

Every single 4th of July, without fail, my family would watch 1776. Yes, the musical starring none other than Mr. Feeny himself, William Daniels. That means I have to find a few hours to sit down and pop in my DVD, because I just can't miss it. It was my mothers way of drilling into us the idea that this holiday is not about me or my freedoms, but about the men and women who gave up everything to create this world we know, and so often take for granted. Our founding fathers were heroes, for I cannot imagine standing up against the greatest world power to fight for something you have never actually known or experienced. Yet freedom was their dream, and today we can all pursue our own American dream because of what they did over 200 years ago.

Today, thousands of young men and women put their lives on the line in the continued defense of that freedom we were given. This holiday is not about freedom itself, but the continuous journey we are on to maintain this beautiful and unique human condition of liberty. We were given a beautiful gift that we must cherish and protect. While you and I do the cherishing as we take a day to celebrate, there are thousands at work doing the protecting at this very moment. Take a moment to thank a member of our military this week, for they are truly the keepers of our independence. Every day they are doing things to protect us that we will never know. Thank their husbands, wives, and children. I have been blessed to spend so much time with our military and their families thanks to my work with the USO (I highly recommend looking up your local USO and volunteering!) I have met children as old as 5 who have never met their fathers or mothers, spouses that raise kids alone, and men and women who have slept in 200+ lbs of gear on desert floors to protect our ability to wake up safe the next morning. I am forever moved by their constant commitment to something more important than themselves, and work every day to follow in their footsteps of selfless service.

Thank you to all those who do work each day to make tomorrow better! From the military, to the charities and organizations helping our neighbors in need, to big businesses that turn profits into support for good causes, to the individuals who stay at home to raise a child; we may all live different lives, but we can all come together under our universal belief in a better world!

Happy Birthday, America!