Independence Day

America is an incredible country, an example to the world of individual freedom and an amazing force for good. Without the United States of America the world would be a much darker and less free place. Not only is the USA an amazing powerhouse of ideas and innovation but it has made sacrifices again and again to protect other nations from the evils of Nazism, Communism and now the barbaric practices of jihad. In the process they also liberated millions of people from the viciousn totalitarian states of the Taliban and Saddam Hussein.

On this Independence Day I would like to extend my gratitude to the brave men and women of the American military who risk their lives daily fighting monsters who take delight in the massacre of innocents, and also to the American people whose stalwart belief in freedom makes that military might possible.

Here's an image from the USMC-

Cpl. Jonathan C. Austin, communications chief and convoy commander with Company B, Iraqi Transition Team 8, Regimental Combat Team 1, slaps an Iraqi child "hi-five" during a patrol through Fallujah June 9. Austin, a Lincolnton, N.C. native, took a few minutes with some transition members to play soccer with neighborhood children during the operation.

Not long ago the Marines fought desperate battles to free Fallujah from the totalitarian grip of bloodthirsty terrorists. Now they're playing with the local kids. I don't want to get too political but Barack Obama refers to the military presence in Iraq as an occupation. In his mind the Marine pictured above in an occupier, not a liberator protecting those children from terrorists. And that's a travesty, an insult to the brave men and women serving their nation.

It infuriates me when some Americans disparage the awesome work that their soldiers and Marines do- and even seem filled with hate for their own nation; a nation whose existence enables them to live the lives of freedom and luxury they have. Perhaps on this Independence Day some of them might take the time to recognise that that they live in a nation which has done so much to benefit not just the lives of its own citizens but of people all over the globe.

Happy Birthday America!