On the Fourth of July we honor the founding of our country. The country has always been imperfect, but it is worth honoring.

On the Fourth we honor our Founders, who, being human, were imperfect, but they are worth honoring.

On the Fourth we should also honor all the many people who brought about the Spirt if ’76. When the imperfections of revered people are pointed out, we often say that they were a product of their times. However, the good also comes from the age in which they lived. Jefferson could not have drafted the Declaration of Independence in 1736 because the times were not ready for it. And he would not have drafted it in 1816 because it would have already been written by someone else. As Pauline Maier in American Scripture: Making the Declaration of Independence reports, many localities had drafted Declarations of Independence in the months before July 4, 1776. If Jefferson had not lived, a national Declaration of Independence, perhaps with not the same eloquence, would still have been adopted. On the Fourth, we should honor more than just the few Founders, but all the Americans who produced the spirit of the times that demanded independence.

On the Fourth of July we honor our warriors, and we should honor those who have performed military service, especially now when an increasingly smaller portion of our population serves to protect the rest of us. Warriors have fought to make us freer and safer.

Those who defend our country are patriots, but so are those who seek to make America better, who strive for an even stronger and freer country today, tomorrow, and for future generations. Improvement, however, requires understanding America’s strengths and America’s weaknesses. Critics of this country are also patriots and should be honored. This includes those who have questioned our wars. Not every one of our armed conflicts has made us freer and safer. The prevention of the needless death or maiming of a soldier is at least as patriotic as honoring the fallen and disabled.

Have hot dogs and hamburgers, ice cream and watermelon. Read the Declaration. Honor Hancock, Jefferson, Franklin and other Founders. But honor many others also.