I love this country.It isn't really one particular thing that makes me love her. I think it's an accumulation of things that has formed my admiration for this beautiful land. Part of it is her natural beauty. I know I've spoken about how much I love the mountains... preeeetty sure you know how much I love them! I love how different parts of the climates are, even just across a few hundred miles. I love how, like in San Diego, you can have mountains, desert, and beach all within 30 minutes. I love how the weather, in Florida, can go from beautiful & breezy with no clouds, to an angry black sky with thunder and raging lightening. I love the beaches of North Carolina and South Carolina, the water of the Keys.
I also love the people. Well, most of the people. I love the people that love my country... those that want to protect her, cherish her, DEFEND her. The people that look around at the blue sky, the endless open plains of the Midwest, even the frigid blue waters at the base of the Rocky Mountains, and see promise. Opportunity. Possibility. The ones who feel pride welling in their throats and in their heart when they see Old Glory, bruised and battered, gently waving in the balmy summer breeze. I love these people because I am these people. We are grateful for what opportunities that our Lord Jesus Christ has blessed with- and we really do understand that we don't have a Right to any of it. What we have is what we earn (not what we take from someone else). There's something to be said for an old-fashioned work ethic, getting up early, working late, really having pride when you take your paycheck to the bank (and understanding that, thanks to our greedy government, we won't get to take it all home) and cashing it... then using it to provide for our families.
Last, I love what she stands for. Hard work. Achievement. Endless possibilities. No matter what the people in Washington say about her, this will always be a country that supports Life (unborn and born), Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. Our Founding Fathers had the right idea when they arrived here from England, searching for freedom from religious persecution and the ability to choose what was right for themselves and their families.
Let's get back to our basics. When did we fall so far away from where we began? I think it would really benefit everyone to take a second, push back from the computer & stand up from your desk, and go outside. Take a deep breath of fresh air, listen to the birds chirping, and thank God that you live in the United States. If you have money in a jar in the dresser or in a fold in your wallet, you're in the top richest 1% of the world.
Isn't it time we really gave thanks for our blessings?
Parting thought:
When an American says that he loves his country, he means not only that he loves the New England hills, the prairies glistening in the sun, the wide & rising plains, the great mountains, and the sea. He means that he loves an inner air, an inner light in which freedom lives & in which a man can draw the breath of self-respect - Adlai Stevenson
Talk soon.
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