The Fourth: A day for entrepreneurs to celebrate

— -- I love the Fourth of July. Friends, barbecue, fireworks. Many years I celebrate the holiday with my family in Ashland, Oregon where I watch a small town parade. Afterwords, the community gathers in the downtown park for a music festival. Before the music begins, they do something that is always a highlight for me: an actor from the Oregon Shakespeare Festival reads the Declaration of Independence.

The crowd goes wild – cheering America's independence, denouncing tyranny. The Declaration of Independence once again becomes a living, meaningful document instead of a school assignment.

I love it. It reminds me of the best that America stands for – freedom, independence, equality, opportunity. It's also a terrific reminder of what makes America a wonderful place for entrepreneurs – we nurture freedom and respect and value differences.

As entrepreneurs, we need freedom to flourish. And we need it not only for ourselves, but for society as a whole. A society that allows – even encourages – diversity and difference is a society that is most likely to be inventive, resourceful and entrepreneurial.

Think about it. If we're all the same, we can't create new products, services or technology. In a world of rapid change, it's more important than ever for us to be taught to think independently and value creativity if we're going to be able to compete economically. Many people understand why it's important to limit government regulation – but it's just as important – perhaps even more so – to truly embrace social diversity.

Think about it: some of those nerds who were considered weird in high school became billionaires creating new technology. Some of the kids now with nose piercings and purple hair are going to be our future product designers. And some of those immigrants who are struggling to learn English are going to establish major businesses, employing hundreds. Just because someone is different doesn't mean he or she doesn't have a lot to contribute.