Independence Day

It's the 4th of July. The anniversary of the day that the British Colonies in the Southern half of North America declared their independence and became the United States of America. Now, I live in England and the two most common assumptions for why I live here are that either: 1) I'm and Anglophile and therefore love all things English, or 2) I dislike the United States. In fact, neither of these things are true. I live in England because that's where I can do my PhD in Conversation Analysis under the banner of Linguistics (as opposed to Sociology). Yes, I quite like England, because I've made very good friends here. But has nothing to do with their nationality. I love the United States. I love my heritage. I love that I am an American! To me it's the best country in the world. Is it perfect? No. But it's mine. I always joke that I love being from America, but in order to be from America, I have to be somewhere else. In honesty, though, I don't particularly mind where I live. But I'm so glad I was born American. So, Happy 4th of July. Happy Independence Day. Happy Anniversary of the Day We Kicked Britain Out of Our Country. God Bless the USA.