As an artist I value free thought and free expression as much as anything in life. That right, which I and all American artists utilize today, began in the thinking of Enlightenment philosophy, but it started to manifest and embed itself into reality when the states declared themselves independent of an empire ruled by a king. I'm eternally grateful for those men and women who fought to establish and defend the principles of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, and ultimately the inalienable right to Freedom of Speech - the bedrock of free thought and free expression and the cornerstone of our, and any, Free Society. It's what allows us, without the punishment or coercion of the authorities, to speak our minds with our voices, to write them with our words, or to illustrate them with our hands.
So thank you to those brave individuals, and to all of us, Happy Independence Day.