Today is Independence Day, the day of the year when the United States of America celebrates their independence from Great Britain. Since I love history, I’ve studied America’s past quite a bit. I remember that every Independence Day when I was younger I would stare up at the fireworks going off and be filled with pride that I was American.
But as I got older, I began to learn about the things America is now endorsing. Slowly, my pride in our nation began to fade.
I love who America was. But I’m not loving who America is becoming. We don’t remember who we were.
What does that mean?
It means that people don’t even know our basic history anymore. There are honest-to-goodness a lot of young people in America who don’t even know what Independence Day is about. We don’t remember who we were, and because of that, we don’t know who we are meant to be.
America is not a nation built off of slavery. It is not a nation built out of racism. It is not a nation built from hatred. Because it was a nation founded by people, it doesn’t mean that those things aren’t real and haven’t happened. But they aren’t the core of who America was.
America was created for freedom. America was created so that all men could be created equal. America was created to remind men that we all are, “endowed by our Creator with certain and unalienable rights; among these life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
Whenever I think about this, I remember what the Frenchman who visited America stated:
“America is great because it is good. When it ceases to be good, it will cease to be great.”
America is a nation to be proud of. As Americans, we have more reason to have pride in our nation than almost any other on earth. We are the country where freedom was first exercised to its fullest.
Don’t listen to the people rewriting history. Don’t listen to the angry, hateful people who waste time trying to force their agenda in your face. Don’t listen to the people trying to shout to the world that we have to try to fix the mistakes of the past that are done and can never be undone.
Today, be proud of America. Be a patriot. Be willing to sacrifice for America. As a nation, remember who we were and use that to remind you of who we could be. What makes America America is the Americans who live in it.
Today, I challenge you to be an American.
Emma, this article was so truthful and inspiring; well done!
Great post! So challenging, especially as I represent the USA abroad.