HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE UNITED STATES!

Today marks 231 years of independence. I wonder sometimes what the Founding Fathers would think if they could see the country today. Would they be pleased with how it has evolved, or would they be appalled at some of the things happening now? I’m guessing it would probably be a little bit of both.

I’m not a “my country, right or wrong” sort of person, in that I don’t think everything is perfect here. However, I am patriotic, and I do think the United States is one of the best countries in the world. I am proud to be a citizen of this country. There must certainly be something about the U.S. when you think how many people want to immigrate here!

And why not? For all the things considered, there are many great things about the United States!

We have a remarkably beautiful country. The first verse of “America the Beautiful” expounds on the spacious skies, amber waves of grain and purple mountain majesties. There are lovely country landscapes and remarkable cityscapes. There is a diversity of 11 hardiness zones, with 9 of those in the continental states. (Fairbanks, Alaska, with temperatures dropping to 55 degrees below zero adds the colder zone 1, and Honolulu, Hawaii, where it never gets below 40 degrees F gives us the warmer zone 11.)

We have a diversity of people, with many races and cultures and cuisines. We have people in huge cities, and in itty-bitty little towns and out in the rural countryside where the nearest neighbor is miles away. Needless to say, that also provides for a diversity of opinions! People just have different ways of looking at things that reflects their background.

But diverse as the country is, we can unite under our flag when the cause is just.

We can be proud of the men and women willing to serve in the military to protect their country. They don’t make the policies, but they are there to do what their country asks of them. They deserve our utmost respect.

We can be proud of our freedoms, and thank God for our blessings. I could go on and on listing what's good about this country, but I'll just say, “Happy Birthday” to the United States, and God Bless America!