4th of July: Day to remember vets

With the annual celebration of America’s Independence approaching July 4, we’re sure most of you are looking forward to sitting out by the pool, barbequing with friends and family and enjoying your beverage of choice.

As fireworks rocket into the air and kids play with sparklers, it’s important to sit back and think about the brave men and women of the American Armed Forces, including our former colleague Michael Davis who is currently in Army Basic Training at Fort Sill in Oklahoma.

We must remember not only those currently serving in the military, but all of the veterans in the history of our great country.

We wouldn’t be doing things we take for granted on this American holiday if it weren’t for the sacrifices made during the American Revolution or the World Wars.

It is those sacrifices that allow America to be the great place that it is to live today.

America has been coined the land of opportunity thanks to our fallen heroes.

So before you light up the grill and light the first firework, why don’t you take the time to call a family member or friend who served in the military and thank them for allowing this day to be possible?

Because it is them, and not the fireworks, that is what the 4th of July is all about.

Here’s to another great year America.

OTHER VIEWS –

The Advocate, Baton Rouge, La., on Obama’s promise to restore the state’s vanishing coastline and marshes:

While the crisis in the Gulf of Mexico plays out, Louisiana got a presidential commitment to its longer-term future: restoration of the state’s vanishing coastline and marshes.

In an Oval Office address, President Barack Obama said he is committed to making sure southern Louisiana’s coastline is saved.

This is a broad promise, for actual restoration of the coastline is a hugely expensive and complicated national endeavor. The state is ready to play its part; Gov. Bobby Jindal and his two immediate predecessors have made coastal restoration a priority for the state. But the salvation of the coastline requires a national response.

About 2,300 square miles of marshland have been lost from the state’s coastline since the 1930s. That the president of the United States is not only aware of but committed to the coast is a big step.

“Finally, we have someone at the highest level recognizing the significance of this issue and the significance of the pending tragedy, and just that is worth its weight in gold,” said R. King Milling, a New Orleans banker who chairs Jindal’s coastal commission.

The issues are numerous, and the projects needed to mimic the movement of sediment from the Mississippi River – the natural force that originally built coastal Louisiana – are complex and require a long-term commitment.

It is not just about beauty, or even about economics, as vital as the latter are in terms of energy and seafood production. It is also a matter of life and death if the coastline further erodes and deadly hurricanes strike without the marshes that provide a natural impediment to storms.

“If this country fails to understand the significance of this delta region, the damage to the area and the impacts on the citizens of this country will be astronomical,” Milling said.

The president’s active support of this endeavor is appreciated, welcome and nessary.