When I was a kid, the Fourth of July meant decorating my bicycle for the neighborhood parade, watching the Phillies play baseball, and proudly wearing a pair of red, white, and blue low-top sneakers that I thought were the coolest shoes on earth. I also remember six-year-old Jacque McGough, wildly rebellious and tiny, sneaking sips of her father’s beer while the annual father-son baseball game was being played in the field behind my house. She loved beer!

I can still smell the warm beer, the hot dogs burning a little over the coals, the freshly cut grass, and my own sweat. It was too hot not to smell sweaty. And you know I had the single earpiece from a transistor radio shoved deep into my ear. Those memories have stayed with me far longer than any fireworks display.

Like many holidays, Independence Day carries different meanings at different stages of life. As a child, I mostly associated it with summer, family, community, and the simple excitement of a day that felt different from all the others. As a writer and publisher, I find myself thinking a little more about the ideas behind the holiday and the freedoms that make creative work possible.

One of those freedoms is the freedom to tell stories.

Another is the freedom to read them.

Books allow us to encounter experiences different from our own, challenge our assumptions, explore new ideas, and engage with perspectives we might never otherwise consider. Whether we are reading literary fiction, fantasy, memoir, poetry, history, romance, mystery, or science fiction, books expand our understanding of the world and of one another.

That is one reason many writers, readers, librarians, and educators become concerned when books are removed from shelves or access to ideas is restricted. A free society is strengthened, not weakened, when people have the opportunity to read widely and think for themselves.

Whether we agree with every book we encounter is beside the point. The ability to explore ideas, ask questions, and draw our own conclusions is one of the freedoms that makes both literature and democracy possible.

As you celebrate the holiday this year, I hope you’ll also find a little time for reading, writing, and reflection. Pick up a favorite book. Discover a new author. Write a few pages. Read a poem. Support a local library. Share a story with someone you love.

And if you happen to own a pair of red, white, and blue sneakers, this might be the perfect week to wear them. (The jury is still out on six-year-olds and beer.)

From all of us at Current Words Publishing, have a safe, happy, and book-filled Fourth of July (and maybe a beer…).