Today is July 4, Independence Day here in the United States. According to the New Oxford American Dictionary1:
independence |ˌindəˈpendəns| noun
the fact or state of being independent : Argentina gained independence from Spain in 1816 | I’ve always valued my independence.
ORIGIN mid 17th cent.: from independent , partly on the pattern of French indépendance.
Today is the day everyone thinks they need to blow something up regardless of the laws and ordinances defined and enforced by their local constabulary. We may or may not be participating in such activities at an undisclosed location tonight.
1 – The default reference used by the Mac OS X Dictionary application