In 1981 President Ronald Reagan on what the Fourth of July meant to him:

For one who was born and grew up in the small towns of the Midwest, there is a special kind of nostalgia about the Fourth of July.

Somewhere in our youth, we began to be aware of the meaning of important national days and with that awareness came the birth of patriotism. July Fourth is the birthday of our nation. I believed as a boy, and believe even more today, that it is the birthday of the greatest nation on earth.

Let the Fourth of July always be a reminder that here in this land, for the first time, it was decided that man is born with certain God-given rights; that government is only a convenience created and managed by the people, with no powers of its own except those voluntarily granted to it by the people.

 We sometimes forget that great truth, and we never should.

For the complete quote go to http://kjos1.securesites.net/Quotes/homeland/july-4-reagan.htm