Next to Christmas and Easter, Independence Day is my favorite holiday. I love the annual reminder that our freedom isn't free and that we have a rare history for which to be grateful. Steve and I started watching The Birth of Freedom last night and after we finish that, we're going to continue in our viewing of John Adams (it's amazing how long it can take us to watch a series these days!). If you're looking for some good reminders of how precious liberty is—and how costly—both are excellent. I'd also recommend reading the Declaration of Independence (thanks to the LA Times for republishing it here). And if you can play some John Philip Sousa music while you're reading, all the better. (You can get free MP3 files of his marches played by the United States Marine Band here.)