Celebrate freedom today

South Florida, don’t let July Fourth go by without a bang

That doesn’t mean you should arm yourself to the teeth with store-bought fireworks. The Sunshine State has some of the most lenient consumer fireworks laws in the land. But trust us, police, firefighters and your mother would rather you take in a local fireworks show, instead.

It doesn’t mean you should over-imbibe at your family barbecue. South Florida police will be swarming the streets this weekend, though they’d rather you not drink and drive and avoid the whole drama altogether. Expect a crackdown on drunken boaters, too.

But whatever you do, don’t let Independence Day go by without some sort of personal acknowledgment, sacrifice or commemoration, big or small.

Freedom in America is under assault. As we celebrate our nation’s 239th birthday, we do so amid heightened security and threat of terrorism, both from abroad and within our borders.

Freedom continues to cost us dearly. To date, 3,478 U.S. and coalition soldiers have died in combat in Afghanistan, plus 4,802 troops in Iraq. During Operation Iraqi Freedom, Florida sacrificed 196 native sons and daughters.

Freedom continues to be challenged at everyday venues, too. Count the casualties in recent weeks alone: An unarmed security guard, killed in May by two assailants linked to the Islamic State protesting a Mohammed art exhibit in Garland, Texas. Nine black churchgoers, gunned down in June, allegedly by a young, white supremacist in Charleston, S.C.

The bad news: Each horrific event is forever wound into the history and fabric of American freedom. The good news: Freedom is alive and well. Just look at Florida. Freedom to carry. Guns, today, are as American as baseball and apple pie. Few states champion the rights of owners more than Florida. Lawmakers constantly push the envelope, most recently by passing legislation that allows gun owners who don’t qualify for concealed weapons licenses to carry concealed weapons during emergencies. Tallahassee promises another push to allow guns on college campuses, too.

Freedom to marry. This weekend, just try to get past a local house of worship not celebrating, or perhaps complaining about, the demise of the ban on same-sex marriage. Attorney General Pam Bondi fought hard for the ban. But in the end, the U.S. Supreme Court sided with equal rights. Now, Florida stands to count the cash as local resorts, restaurants and hotels attract more LGBT travelers, who have spent $1.5 billion here in recent years.

Freedom to toke. Some say pot will never be legal in Florida, even as other states reap the economic boon. Yet last year, Tallahassee legalized a low-grade marijuana strain for use on children with seizures. Also last year, more than 58 percent of state voters supported a constitutional amendment that would have allowed much broader use of medical marijuana, just shy of the 60 percent needed. Supporters have already fired up the campaign for a second attempt in 2016. Meanwhile, Miami-Dade County this week became the first in South Florida to make possession of a small amount of pot a civil infraction, rather than a crime.

And what would talk of freedom be without mention of the Florida Dreamers? As the nation slowly wrangles with immigration reform, Florida lawmakers have come to the aid of immigrants who arrived in America as children. A new state law allows unauthorized immigrants to pay in-state tuition if they meet certain requirements, opening the door to the American dream. Just weeks ago, 15 Dreamers graduated from Broward College. They are among the 300 enrolled at the campus.

“It’s been a hell of fight,” Maria Madrinan, a 26-year-old honors student from Fort Lauderdale told the Sun Sentinel. “There were endless nights when I cried thinking I could not continue my education.” Madrinan has nothing but freedom ahead of her. If that doesn’t make you want to celebrate, maybe this will. For the first time this Fourth of July, Floridians will be free to drink craft beer from 64-ounce “growlers.” If you do down one at the family barbecue, call a cab or Uber, which is donating some of its proceeds this weekend to Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

As Ronald Reagan once warned, freedom is one generation away from extinction.

Let’s not waste the opportunity to celebrate it here at home.

And trust us on the fireworks thing.