As America celebrates the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence this Fourth of July, it’s worth taking a moment to appreciate something our founders considered priceless: freedom.

Fire up the grill. Watch the fireworks. Fly the flag. Enjoy making your own choices without asking permission from a government agency, an activist, or the self-appointed experts who always seem to know what’s best for everyone else.

The irony, of course, is that while we’re celebrating the document that declared Americans would govern themselves – not be ruled by a distant elite – today’s progressive movement is determined to regulate everything from guns and gas stoves and cars to speech, energy use, and how we raise our children.

Critics see that as an alarming expansion of government. Progressives, liberals, socialists, communists, and their loyal media cheerleaders insist it’s all for the “common good.” Funny how the “common good” always seems to require more government control, more taxpayer money, and less individual freedom. In the end, it’s just about the power and wealth that comes with it.

The Declaration of Independence wasn’t a promise that freedom would be easy. It was a reminder that liberty must be defended by every generation.

So this Independence Day, celebrate America’s 250th birthday with gratitude – and remember that freedom isn’t something we inherit forever. It’s something we choose to protect. And we must continue to do so.