Hardware stores are the nuts and bolts of American freedom this July 4th

Hardware stores symbolize American freedom through homeownership and responsibility, where DIYers maintain properties representing nearly half their personal wealth.

Howard Husock is the author of "The Poor Side of Town: And Why We Need It" (Encounter Books). He is a senior fellow in domestic policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute. He served on the Board of Directors of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting from 2013-17. 

That helped explain the absence of a type of business I noticed was missing on the streets of the city made famous by Sergei Eisenstein’s film, "SS Potemkin:" pe They are ubiquitous in the U.S., of course, from the Home Depot and Lowe’s giants to the hundreds of small-town "True Value" affiliates. Their absence during the hangover from the socialism period led me to realize that the outlets for everything from lumber to wall plaster to bathroom grout hold a significance that goes beyond their thousands of inventory items. They say much about America — from private homeownership to personal agency and required responsibility that go along with it. In other words, freedom.