David Webster's family and friends were some of the first at Carson Park to stake out a spot for the fireworks, but he says he also knows the real meaning behind the day.

"It's become one of my favorite holidays, just because of what it stands for and what our country stands for,” says Webster.

Others who also got there early say they're not just there for the show in the sky.

"The 4th, to me, means celebrating the past 233 years that we've been together as a nation and remembering the events that helped us become a nation,” says Jake McCormick.

And though this American says the country's having a tough time right now, he says he knows from history that we'll make it out ok.

"I think Obama and his administration are doing ok, but we have to keep seeing what happens," says McCormick.

While parades and picnics are happening all over the area, others gather here in Eau Claire for the 4th of July for something that they say is also uniquely American—Protest.

"We're here to rally against high taxation," says Micah Stofferahn.

The Eau Claire Area TEA Party, which stands for Taxed Enough Already, says the problems that forced our founding fathers to break from England are still happening with today's politicians.

"I really believe that if they were here today alive, they would come to a tea party because they would stand up and they would say, look we don't agree with the high taxation,” says Stofferahn.

But regardless of politics or patriotic demonstrations, all Americans I spoke to say they wouldn't live anywhere else.

"It's just about celebrating that we're here and we're free," says McCormick.