I admit that I grew up under privilege.

No, it wasn’t because my family had wealth. We didn’t. My Father, the late Harley Biggs, Sr., was a barber who took home about $100 a week back in the 1960s in Tulsa. My mother passed away in 1959 and Dad had to raise five young boys on his modest salary.

I started working when I was 12, mowing yards for $2 or $3 in our neighborhood (next to McClure Park) and picking up empty pop bottles to cash in for 2 cents each. I sold popcorn, peanuts and Cracker Jacks at the old Oiler Stadium at the Fairgrounds and made a couple of bucks a night.

I got my first job with wages at age 15 at a taco stand at 4th Place and Sheridan Road. I have been working ever since then.

I was not privileged by high social status. I went to public schools at Burbank Elementary, Bell Junior High and Nathan Hale High School. Burbank was populated by the children of recent Cuban immigrants and children of lower-middle-class and low-income families. At Burbank and Bell, no one got a ride to school in a Cadillac or Mercedes. Most of us walked to school or got occasional rides in Fords and Chevys.

I had never been to a country club until I became an adult. I bought my first car – a 1965 Ford Falcon – for $500. I put $50 down and paid $50 a month for 12 months to pay it off. My Dad said I could get a car if I paid for it with my earnings, if I bought the gas, if I paid for the insurance and for the upkeep. I did all that.

No, my privilege came from living in the most prosperous nation in the history of the world.

My father fought in the Battle of the Bulge in Europe in World War II so that his sons would not have to die in battle. My grandfather fought in the U.S. Navy in World War I. My brothers served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War and in the Oklahoma National Guard during Vietnam. My son served in the Oklahoma Army National Guard in Kuwait.

Their devotion to America meant that I didn’t have to join the military (I would have had I been drafted or if we had been in a major war).

I was privileged to attend a state-supported major college, The University of Oklahoma. I worked my way through college, including a $2,000 student loan that I repaid just a few months after graduating. My college degree has been a stepping stone for my career in journalism.

I did not suffer the racial discrimination that my black friends endured in my early life. Back then, Tulsa was essentially segregated. Blacks lived in North Tulsa and whites lived elsewhere. But poor white families lived in East Tulsa and West Tulsa while upper-middle class families lived in South Tulsa. Rich people lived Downtown and in Midtown (they still do).

In America, I have the privilege of mobility. I can hop in my car and drive to New York or Seattle or Los Angeles or Miami (Florida) without getting permission from the government or going through police roadblocks. I can sell my house and move my family to anyplace in the nation without interference. And when we travel, the laws in other states are mostly the same.

I have had limited travel overseas. I spent two weeks in Russia and I was overwhelmed by the poverty and lack of freedom. It is a dark country where oppression is common.

I have been to seaports in Belize, Mexico and Bermuda. While the tourist areas are similar to the United States, once you get past the nice hotels and restaurants, the poverty is overwhelming. And so is the desperation.

The best privilege I have in the United States is the freedom to worship whom I please. I grew up in a Christian culture, in a city where there was a church around every corner. We said the Lord’s Prayer in school at the start of the day.

I was privileged to go to summer camp at New Life Ranch, a Christian camp that immersed children in genuine Christian living.

They taught the Bible and then applied in real-life terms.

In so many countries, people – especially children – are not free to openly worship Jesus Christ. At best, they are discouraged. At worst, they are persecuted and even killed for their faith.

Living in America is a privilege. Most people in the rest of the world would like to live here to enjoy our prosperity and our freedoms.

God bless America on this Fourth of July!