I’m getting ready to have some breakfast and now that the coffee has started flowing, I’ve gotten to thinking…

What did you have for breakfast today? Maybe cereal, or fruit, or eggs. When you bought those you had a choice between any of the myriad brands at the store. Have you bought an iPad? Do you have a car? Ever go out to eat at a restaurant? Buy clothes? Jewelry? Post on Facebook? Fly somewhere? Have to decide: Mac or PC? Choose the gas station that had the lower price? Buy the cheaper version of something? Buy the more expensive version of something? A Wii?

That’s a pretty simple way to see that you have a choice. We ALWAYS have a choice. That is the essence of the free market, of capitalism, of liberty. Being able to choose not just the breakfast we want, but the LIFE we want. We are not guaranteed the life we want–that would be absurd and impossible. But we are guaranteed the ability to CHOOSE the life we want, and then to go make it happen.

Some people choose to live a life that is centered around taking care of a family. Others choose a life of academic research…..perfecting their skills at the same job for fifty years….starting a business….being a yoga instructor….being a chef…..going into politics…..standing on the street and begging for money…be a democrat….be a reupblican…. These are all choices. We are not confined to any sort of lifestyle in this country. We are not even confined to a life of liberty! If you don’t like this place, you are free to go wherever you like.

“Four score and seven years ago our Fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in LIBERTY…” — Lincoln

THAT is where we live. THAT is the principle, the one basic principle, on which this nation was founded: the ability to choose. And I, for one, would fight to the death to preserve that choice.

So today I am thankful to the Founders for establishing this place that has surpassed every other civilization that has ever existed on this Earth, and that has yet to meet its match. And I am thankful for the men and women who died in the defense of this great country. I am thankful that I have the LIBERTY to choose the life that I want to live, and then to go LIVE IT!

No, we are not the only place on Earth, and we may never do everything quite right, but we will always cherish the right to choose, we will always choose liberty, we always will be the United States of America. Happy Fourth of July!!

Russell Bradchulis is the CEO and Founder of Foresight Home Solutions, LLC, a full-service real estate solutions provider specializing in Foreclosure Assistance, Residential Redevelopment, and Estate Liquidation. You may call him at 781-333-4447 or email him at russell@foresighthomesolutions.com