What we celebrate is who and what we are as a people. Perhaps, in the aftermath of last September's attack on the World Trade Center, it may be a bit more somber than in other years as we reflect on the price of freedom. Perhaps, in light of ongoing threats and newly necessary precautions, it may be a bit less carefree than in other years.

But make no mistake. It is a time to celebrate.

There are those who would look at the problems of crime, both in the back alleys and the boardrooms. There are those who would look at our national failures, such as the legacy of slavery, which haunts us to this day. There are those who would look at the shortcomings, real and perceived, of those in all kinds of leadership, be it political, spiritual, business, or family. They would see all these things and ask what we have to show for ourselves, what reason we have to celebrate.

But make no mistake. It is a time to celebrate.

It is a time to celebrate regardless of which party is in leadership. There are those who hate what America stands for because of this or that action of the government. However, America has never been defined by its political leaders, but rather by the freedom to choose who they will be.

It is a time to celebrate regardless of what the stock markets say. There are those who hate what America stands for because of our financial and industrial entities who are not always, and perhaps not even often, driven by principle over profit. However, America has never been defined by its business leaders, but rather by the freedom to grow, to achieve, and to prosper.

And on and on it goes. I could list any number of things that we are not defined by, but this is a day to celebrate what we are. We are the nation that introduced the world to democracy. Consider that, even in these days of political savvy and networking, three of our last five presidents were known best before politics as a peanut farmer, an actor, and the owner of a baseball team. While being born a member of "the ruling class" is an advantage, it's certainly not a prerequisite. One need only look at the unsuccessful presidential campaigns of Ted Kennedy to see that no one is born to power, only to opportunity, and to one degree or another, that is something we all have.

We are the nation that has shed its blood on foreign soil in the defense of freedom instead of turning its back and retreating within our own walls. Chateau-Thierry. Normandy and Iwo Jima. Pusan. Kuwait. Not one of these is a region of our heartland or a metropolis on either of our coasts, but time and again, when freedom was in jeopardy, we were there in word and in deed. And when the wars were behind us, instead of standing to gloat over our foes, we offered them our hand. The Marshall Plan in Europe. The rebuilding of Japan. The leadership to make the United Nations succeed where the League of Nations had failed without us.

But most of all, we are the nation that runs to every disaster, natural or manmade, ready to offer assistance without asking ethnicity or race or social status. We ask only this: where do you need us and how do we get there?

We do not know what the future holds for us or for anybody else. Certainly, it is true that the challenges and threats we face, though they be the same in substance as ever, come in new and terrifying forms. However, whatever the future may bring, we can remain confident that the same spirit that has brought us through in the past will serve us well in the future. We will not emerge unbloodied, but as long as we remain true to who we are, we will emerge unbeaten.

That is who we are, and on this Fourth of July, that is what we celebrate as we once again watch "that Star Spangled banner yet wave over the land of the free and the home of the brave".