Earlier this month, Americans celebrated the fourth of July, marking the country’s independence. It celebrates the Declaration of Independence, adopted on 4 July 1776, when the 13 US colonies declared themselves independent from the British Empire.

In the minds of many, it is about freedom and equality – but defining what these concepts mean invites social division.

The off-cited words of the Declaration’s preamble are definitely stirring: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

Despite the foregoing and the “Give me your tired, your poor” invitation of Lady Liberty, Americans have long been fractured over who and what a patriot is or should be.

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