This weekend, many of us will begin celebrating our independence. The holiday itself is of course on Wednesday, but the weekend is a great time to stop and consider how lucky we are. We are blessed to live in a country where we are free to worship as we see fit, speak our minds and even publish this newspaper.

There are so many freedoms granted to us, that it is easy to forget that freedom is anything but free. Brave men and women have fought and died to secure that freedom throughout our country’s history, and we encourage everyone to thank the military service members — past and present — in their lives in the coming days.

Some of the men who fought for our freedom during World War II will be at Sweetland Amphitheatre tonight for a meet and greet at 7 p.m.

We encourage you to take a moment to thank them amidst these fourth of July festivities that they helped make possible.

We especially enjoy watching children interact with veterans and actually meet the people who were there when these events — that these children will only read about in history books  — happened.

This opportunity to meet WWII veterans in person is slowly dwindling as the years pass, so we encourage you to take this opportunity to do so.

Also, if you choose to set off fireworks this weekend, please be mindful of those same veterans who may live nearby. Loud noises can be startling or even alarming for those facing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, which many veterans deal with in the aftermath of war.

Finally, we at The LaGrange Daily News would like to thank those who have fought to secure our freedom in the past and those who still fight today. Thank you for making this the land of the free, and the home of the brave.