Everyone plays a role in the Fourth of July

Few of the 2.5 million who lived in the 13 colonies on July 4, 1776, knew that anything momentous had occurred, but today, nearly all 304 million of us will celebrate in some manner, whether by attending a parade, watching fireworks and attending a backyard barbecue.

And, nearly all of us have a role to play, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

According to figures, There's a one-in-four chance that the hot dogs or pork sausages on your grill came from Iowa, which was home to 17.6 million market hogs and pigs this past March 1.

And those steaks and burgers; 6.8 billion pounds of cattle and calves was produced in Texas in 2007, about a sixth of the nation's beef output. Nebraska, with 4.7 billion pounds, and Kansas, with 4.1 billion pounds, were not far behind.

If chicken's more to your liking, George, Arkansas, North Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi or Texas producers each supplied more than $1 billion in broilers between December 2006 and November 2007.

It's not all meat, of course, and farmers in Florida, California, Georgia and New York together accounted for 60 percent of the sweet corn produced in 2007, and North Dakota farmers grew 42k percent of the nation's dry, edible beans for baked bean dishes.

Chips and potato salad are a must, of course, and more than half (52 percent) of the nation's spuds.

Lettuce likely comes from Florida, tomatoes are likely to come from Florida or California, and that ketchup on your burger or hot dog probably came from California.

Georgia led in watermelon with a billion pounds last year.

And that's just the tip of the ice berg.

Yes, $207 million in fireworks was imported from China in 2007, but surprisingly, Japan purchased $3.8 million of the $14.9 million in fireworks America exported in 2007.

And, of the $4.7 million spend on U.S.flags sold in 2007, $4.3 million came from China.

Clearly, there is a role for all of us to play of the Fourth of July, even if we're foreign workers who could only dream of the privileges and advantages we enjoy by living in the United States.

The most important role for Americans is staying involved, voting or even running for office.

The fact that we have the freedom to do so is the proof of just how important July 4, 1776, really was.