At long last....

... a Kathleen Parker column we can get behind.

The truth is that Americans love their free speech and have had enough of those who think they can dictate the limits of that fundamental right. Americans also love humor and the irreverence that underpins the joke.

You might say irreverence is our national religion. It keeps us from taking ourselves too seriously and from killing one another over differences of opinion. Cartoons get under our skin in special ways, driving past our defenses and aiming right for the heart of our self-importance. That's why we respond so emotionally.

Barring the occasional offensive punch line, humor is a mostly pleasant test of our allegiance to founding principles. Think of it this way: The degree to which one can tolerate ribbing about one's most deeply held convictions is the degree to which a society can remain free. We honor that notion through our laws and our sense of humor. We may not all laugh at the same things, but most understand that it ain't personal.

It's a spectacularly beautiful morning here in San Diego. As we prepare to lay some wagers on the Kentucky Derby later this afternoon, we hope your morning is budding in similar fashion.

Forget Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and George Washington for a moment. On May 1st, May Day, the Communist 4th of July, let's remember the laborers, farmers, blacksmiths and cart wrights of our own that are not celebrated like the aforementioned but still suffered and died for the cause of freedom and liberty that has resulted in the prosperity we now enjoy today.

Washington didn't make it across the Delaware by himself. Who are those people in that famous picture? Would we have the courage to be one of those people?

We're sure we are missing something and there is indeed a significant Revolutionary War veteran's memorial somewhere but if not and even still, perhaps we can fashion May Day into something other than a celebration of collectivism and promotion of lawlessness that it is today.