Now that the rocket’s red glare has stopped and the bombs have finally concluded bursting in air, a lot of folks will hang up their star-spangled garb until next July, their excited patriotism fading quicker than their sunburn.

It’s a harsh truth, but the camaraderie the Fourth of July brings out is very brief. From all sides of the political spectrum, the only thing people can seem to agree on is that things could be better.

Being upset with those that are in charge, dismay over policies that seem unfair and agonizing about whatever recent tragedy has happened have become all too commonplace, so much so that “patriotism” can easily be misconstrued as a term associated with blind compliance, ignoring the bad to force a belief that things are good.

That’s why Independence Day is so great. It takes us out of the current political and social climate to celebrate the country as we want it to be, a unified place of hope and ambition where “The American Dream” isn’t just a marketing trope, but an ideal. The day is not about ignoring the mountain of bad but rather holding a magnifying glass to the bit of good.

It is a day of looking at America not as a place, a figurehead or a group of people but as a place where everyone is free.

The Fourth of July is a time where red and blue come together to celebrate the things that make America great, putting a pause on the argument over what could make it great again. It acts as a morale booster, remembering the progress that has been made so that we can all keep making change to progress even further.

Loving your country does not have to mean liking everything about it. Independence Day acts as a refresher, allowing us to celebrate what we are so that we can fix what we shouldn’t be.