It's so good to be free

I have much to be grateful for on this 235th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the document that freed our people from the bonds of English law and consecrated this country as a free and independent nation.

I am immensely grateful to our Founding Fathers that they saw fit to include in the Declaration the statement "that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

Because of the forward-thinking attitudes that allowed this simple but powerful sentence to be put upfront in the Declaration, I get to live in a country that 235 years after this document was signed is a shining example of just how powerful these rights are. New York state just recently made it legal for same-sex couples to marry, a right that, as far as I am concerned, can be linked directly to this part of the Declaration. Hurray New York!

Now, maybe other states will follow suit so that all citizens can truly say they live in a country where we all really are created equal and are afforded equally the rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Additionally, my heart is still smiling three years after this country elected a black man to our highest office. I said it on election day, but it bears repeating: "It's about time, America." While many people do not agree with Barack Obama's politics, lots of folks were just as proud as me to see this nation let go of its racist past and see to it that our country is unafraid to select a man of color to guide us.

Sadly, though, there are still too many people, in my opinion, who are against a black man being president simply because they think his skin color precludes him from being a good leader. That's such a shame, but it's true -especially here in Alabama where so many still cling to segregationist attitudes.

Regardless, I am proud to live in this nation that is being led by a man, who happens to be black, but is so much more than his skin color. I think Obama is a very intelligent, compassionate, considerate, even-handed, and all-around good man who also deserves kudos as a father and husband juggling a seemingly impossible itinerary of duties.

Having elected such a man to our highest office opens up so many doors for others who aspire to political greatness - especially women, who I expect we'll see lots more of jumping into the political machine that runs our country.

Speaking of women, I am so grateful that the signers of the Declaration of Independence saw fit to not exclude women from those persons who are created equal and are entitled to the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Because those rights are guaranteed in this oh-so-important document, I was able to choose to be a stay-at-home mother and wife rather than be forced to do this job.

So many women in the past did not have the option to stay at home. They were expected to marry young, forgo an education and were often treated as second-class citizens by their husbands and, in some cases, their children. I imagine our country would have been much further along now both socially and economically had women been allowed many years ago to exercise the rights afforded to them in the Declaration of Independence.

As it is now, though, I am blessed to live in a time where women are finally harnessing these rights and getting to make the choice to stay at home, work outside the home, work from home, have kids or not. Even though there are still some hurdles to leap as far as women's rights are concerned, we're doing pretty good at the moment, I think.

I really, really hope we're on an upward trajectory with regard to this issue. It's my sincere hope that my girls will get to live in an age where women's rights are looked upon, as they should be, as just another human right and people of this great nation honestly embrace the notion that all who are here really are created equal.

Oh what a great day that will be!