There are certainly parts about college in the United States that are hard to celebrate even on the Fourth of July. College is more expensive than ever before. Student debt is at an all-time high. People are questioning the value of a college education and if they’ll ever get a return on their investment. These are real issues that you can’t cheerlead around.

But the Fourth of July is a good time to remember how lucky we are to live in a country that values and encourages education—for everyone—even if our policies don’t always support that belief as much as they should. It’s a good time to remember how lucky we are to live in the country with the most open and accessible system of higher education in the world. It’s a good time to remember how lucky we are that with the exception of a few particular career choices, a student’s success in life is determined far more by what she does during and after college than by whether or not she graduates from a prestigious (and/or expensive) school.

There’s plenty that’s wrong with higher education in America, and much to be done to improve access to it, especially for first generation and under-resourced students. But today is a good day to remember that the opportunity to dream about getting a college education at all is one that plenty of people on the planet will never have. And for the most part, America is getting that part right.

Have a wonderful Fourth of July.