Pity for those who think this – the greatest country in the world – is so bad they refuse to acknowledge today’s July 4th holiday. Some choose to protest it for all the world to see.

Every year, it seems, a few spoiled Americans pride themselves in bemoaning our country on Independence Day for any variety of reasons. They claim we are racist and intolerant. This year there is more ugly noise than usual because the Supreme Court enforced the 10th Amendment by overturning Roe v. Wade. The ruling allows the people in each state to democratically regulate or fully deregulate abortion – as Colorado has done.

A Democratic Party leader in Arizona organized a “F-(expletive) The Fourth” rally in response to the ruling. That inspired similar planned protests throughout the United States. A social media movement urged people to wear black and denounce this country. Another hate-the-country movement urges the public to celebrate “July Farce.” They all claim a court ruling that restores nearly 200 years of jurisprudence means “we are no longer free.”

Most Americans love this country despite the various laws and regulations they despise. Nothing pleases everyone. It is easy for the well-informed, however, to take pride in this country when they learn the state of much of the rest of the world.

Unlike Ukrainians, Americans are not fighting for their children’s lives as a hostile dictator orders their killings without discretion. Unlike minorities in China, Pakistan, Nigeria and multiple other slave countries, Americans are not chained, trafficked, raped and murdered with government complicity.

The people wearing black can complain all they want about this great republic, but if transported almost anywhere else most would beg to return. Take this year’s gripe about the Supreme Court. Even after the ruling, few countries allow greater abortion rights than are found throughout the United States. The laboratory of states and the voters that control it will always afford women the right to abortions as late as labor and delivery in vast regions. What suits democratic values in the Bible Belt doesn’t match the values of Colorado, New York and California. That’s why the law respects state sovereignty on matters not specifically addressed in the Constitution.

If renouncing the country on one court ruling, do so knowing that only three foreign countries have abortion laws as permissive as Colorado’s. They include South Ossetia, Canada and China. Most countries have regulations substantially more restrictive than most American states, regardless of the court’s controversial ruling.

In addition to protecting more rights for women than nearly any other country, the United States ranks among the most diverse countries in ethnicity, race, language, religion, creed, nationality and general inclusion. World Population Review reports more than 50 million foreign-born individuals reside in the United States, followed a distant second by Germany with 15.8 million foreigners.

Multiple reasons explain why millions spend their life savings and/or risk their lives trying to live in the United States legally or otherwise. The biggest reason is the freedom that allows people to live as they desire and pursue success however they define it – no matter who they are or what they look like.

Immigrants to this country are often shocked by the opportunities and freedoms natural-born citizens take for granted. They often can’t get enough of the freedom of travel throughout a country with a federal government that protects for public use nearly one-third of the country’s landmass – a whopping 650-million acres that belongs equally to rich and poor without regard to origins, immutable traits or even legal residency status.

In this great country, we protect haters who mock and ridicule the police – the men and women charged with protecting their right to mock and ridicule authorities up to and including the country’s president.

We are free to worship. We are free to denigrate worship. We are free to communicate nearly anything we choose. We are free to own property and protect it. We are free to defend ourselves against aggression. We are free to prosper. Consenting adults are free to love whoever they choose. We are free to love the country or hate it.

All people from all backgrounds who live in the United States should celebrate freedom and independence today. Most will and a few will not. The many should have pity on the few wearing black, desecrating flags, and holding their country in contempt. They may be sad and ill-informed, but they are well within their rights because they are free. Happy Independence Day.

Colorado Springs Gazette editorial board