Why do we celebrate the 4th of July?

I was having lunch today with my friends and one of them said that his son loved the 4th but didn't know why they were celebrating. I had another friend tell me this evening that the whole fireworks and blowing things up combined with the heat and the war in Iraq made her experience apocalyptic. And then my mom wanted to be with family on the holiday because that is what she did as a kid--we talked about it and decided that things have changed too much to go back.

So on the 4th I was celebrating a day off and finally feeling that I'd recovered from ALA. I was contemplating the reports I have to write about the conference and then I was feeling remarkably lucky to live in a country where the librarians get to gather and share their experiences and talents. I then felt that I should post a blog celebrating intellectual freedom and then decided not to because I am intellectually free. :) But I also thought about the war and about the freedoms that have been denied our own citizens.

What does it mean to be free? Are we really?