Rhonda Abrams over at USA TODAY has this to say about today:
I love the Fourth of July. Friends, barbecue, fireworks. Many years I celebrate the holiday with my family in Ashland, Oregon where I watch a small town parade. Afterwords, the community gathers in the downtown park for a music festival.
Before the music begins, they do something that is always a highlight for me: an actor from the Oregon Shakespeare Festival reads the Declaration of Independence.
The crowd goes wild — cheering America’s independence, denouncing tyranny. The Declaration of Independence once again becomes a living, meaningful document instead of a school assignment.
I love it. It reminds me of the best that America stands for — freedom, independence, equality, opportunity. It’s also a terrific reminder of what makes America a wonderful place for entrepreneurs — we nurture freedom and respect and value differences.
As entrepreneurs, we need freedom to flourish. And we need it not only for ourselves, but for society as a whole. A society that allows — even encourages — diversity and difference is a society that is most likely to be inventive, resourceful and entrepreneurial.
America will stay strong and free as long as we continue to welcome everyone’s ideas and differences. That’s what makes it a wonderful place to be an entrepreneur.
Photo by fccss.com.